To Fight For Something You Realize You Lost
by Juztin
Summary: How could she lose him, what will he become, how could she win his heart? Events, tragedies, agendas and sadness are in her way, can she endure like Ninja's should and make it through to the end?
1. Chapter 1 - He Needed Her Help

It was late at night as the village of Konoha was asleep except for two people in particular. Somewhat hidden in the midst of one of the many parks with them tucked away under one of the shadows of the trees as a full moon lit the sky.

"Sakura I really need your opinion on this, and I don't know of anybody else to ask as you know me best…" Naruto paused with a serious look on his face. Although his facial expressions were twitching as if he was almost ready to cry she couldn't help but notice and focus on.

Sakura looked at his eyes as she took note of the lack of the 'chan' suffix. When did he stop saying that, she racked her brain momentarily and realized that she had not seen him in the last couple of weeks. The baka was usually so involved in her life, she realized that the last two weeks were such a blur that she actually had overlooked the fact that they have not hung out as they often did.

She studied him momentarily, his deep blue eyes bored into hers as if trying to determine if he could ask it.

"Okay, what's on your mind Naruto?" she asked.

"I've finally found someone that truly loves me, and I don't know what to do…." Naruto admitted. "She's kind, very timid, always nice to me, and believes in me unwaveringly…. And furthermore she admitted she loved me during the battle with Pein" he lamented.

"She then got cut down by Pein before my very own eyes and I completely lost it, nothing had ever mattered to me more in my life in that split second. Not the title of Hokage, or the village. The fact that a woman would actually love me….and I lost her… I didn't even know that was possible… for me to be loved by someone" tears were streaming down his cheeks as he admitted this.

Sakura was completely shocked and wide eyes at what he just said to her. She felt a pain like she has never felt before right in her heart. She didn't know what to do, she wanted to scream, to run, to hit her baka… _her baka_….. _'When did I lose my baka'_ she thought to herself. She was so used to him always being there, her anchor amidst their violent lives as shinobi. Sasuke had abandoned her and tried to kill her before. Her heart had definitely changed and she despised the love struck genin she used to be giving him every benefit of the doubt.

"I'm so scared Sakura…. I don't know what to do, please help me…." He was utterly crying. She could not do anything but stare as she felt tears from her own eyes run down her cheeks. He was so vulnerable; this was the man who single-handedly saved Konoha, her friends, and _HER_. Yet her he was, seemingly so weak and vulnerable. This titan of a human being from what she witnessed, when the self-appointed _'God'_ was running away from Naruto and his power… was sitting next to her on his knees, with his head hung low but at an angle she could see his tears easily. His hands digging into his pants for comfort. He was desperate coming to her for comfort, she realized how important this was.

He _SHOWED_ her this side to him, and only _HER_. He allowed her to see this part of him, and this meant the world to her. Her heart beamed with such pride that he went to her. Yet it was breaking at the same time… when did she lose Naruto? To a woman that confessed her love for him... She thought about the battle and that time when Naruto seemingly lost control and went into a new and unstable form of bijuu mode with more tales than she has ever seen him release.

"Hinata….." she whispered her name, but loud enough for Naruto to hear while an uncontrolled small hiccup came out of her mouth.

Naruto only nodded in confirmation.

"Sakura, I'm so scared, I want to experience love. I'm a demon, I'm supposed to be unloved, alone, just a weapon and tool of Konoha..." that floored Sakura, never had she heard him speak like that before. He was always, carefree, joking, or completely serious and threatening S rank criminals that they would die if they hurt his loved ones. But not this….

"No!" she yelled immediately, causing Naruto to slowly bring his eyes up to her while still sobbing.

"Naruto, you are not a demon!" she said with fierceness in her eyes that he could only recall seeing when she was in the heat of battle facing an enemy with a purpose.

"You are the light of Konoha, the protector of Konoha, you are our hero Naruto, you are not a demon!" she said with utmost authority even though her heart was broken inside her chest.

She felt a wave of emotions, from fury, to guilt, to most of all, an immense feeling of loss. She was losing her Naruto, to Hinata….. _'What have I done, how could I of let myself lose him?'_ the thought bore into her brain…

"Sakura, I've never had a chance to be loved, I didn't think it was possible" he said looking at her with his blue orbs glistening from the tears. She had told him she loved him in the land of Iron. But at that time that was a lie… She realized now how wrong she was to think of loving him as a lie back then. Her thoughts of him had changed a lot.

_'Kami, how did I not ever know he thought of himself so lowly, I only helped this by what I did to him'_ she started to really cry as Naruto took note.

"Naruto, you deserve so much love! You are so kind, loyal, protective, and you never go back on your word. You are such a rare person, and I have never known a better man" she said to him as her heart opened up honestly. _'Why am I only saying this now, why did it take him confiding in me now to tell him these things?'_ she was angry with herself. _'I've been too busy in the hospital working to pay attention to him, my teammate. My….'_ She couldn't bring herself to finish that train of thought as an image of Hinata appeared in her mind.

"Wh-what should I do?" he stuttered.

"….Do…you love her?" she asked. _'I have to know if how he feels about her'_ she thought.

"I don't know, I don't have any feelings for her like that…..at this time" he said and she certainly didn't like the sound of 'at this time'.

"B-But there is somewhat else I do have feelings for…" he said meekly. She picked up her head hearing this to look into his eyes.

_'Can he still love me, and have feelings for me?'_ she thought as her heart skipped a beat as she was startled out of her line of thought.

"Who is it?" she asked as she made sure she said it softly as she was trying to be there for him, Naruto needed her and she would be there for him after all he has done for her.

He just looked at her with a deep sorrowful gaze and slowly dropped his eyes. _'It's you he thought'_ to himself.

"Someone I can never have…" _'Her heart belongs to Sasuke'_ he thought bitterly.

Her brain's thoughts were flying at the speed of light as she analyzed those words. She knows that Naruto loved her with all his endless spewing of it back when she thought he was an utter idiot. But now… he was the strongest ninja in the village. This dead last became literally the strongest ninja. If she wasn't there to witness his ascension to his extreme power, she would of never believed it herself.

He proved everybody wrong. Yet, he was…human. Love has brought this colossus down from dizzying heights, to utter rock bottom.

A saying struck her like a lightning bolt _'Love is the most powerful force, it can shape the world, as well as destroy it'_.

"Naruto… do you love me?" _'I…I…I have to know'_ she had thought, she knew she had to confirm what her brain had already finished processing that previous vague statement.

He shuddered and closed his eyes forcefully and his body tensed. She felt his chakra, waves of sadness waved in it. He just began to sob hard. That was her answer, a _'Yes'_ spoken in the language of tears, the language of a broken heart all of his own.

"Y-your heart belongs to….S-sasuke" he mumbled slowly.

There was a long pregnant pause that seemed to last an eternity as Sakura sifted through memories.

A part of her heart from her old days that still remained with her as she aged did in fact love Sasuke. But she recalled the moment he tried to end her life with his Kusanagi, he swung at her with the intent to kill. The only thing that saved her was…_Naruto_. Feelings welled up in her heart at the thought of Naruto.

"No, I can't love someone that tried to kill me. If it was not for you, I would not be here right now…" she said matter of fact after thinking about it.

But her heart still hurt; here Hinata had truly professed her love for Naruto and meant it. The last time Sakura did that it was a lie. She felt hurt that a woman professed their love to Naruto, especially someone Naruto would actually take notice of and not just brush off thinking it was just him being a hero.

But she was torn, torn to tell Naruto no, to not follow Hinata's love and instead profess her own. But how could she? She had lied to him before with her blinding view on Sasuke.

But a part of her wanted to be selfish, wanted him all to herself. She would have to earn his trust in the taboo subject of love between them. She knew she had a lot to make up for, but how would she do it?

"Naruto, I think you should go after someone that you KNOW you love, follow your heart. That is what Tsunade-sama told me quite a few times" she said as she emphasized the 'know'. The 'a few times' part caught Naruto's attention particularly however.

_'I wonder why she said that to Sakura, I take it Sakura has a love interest already. If not Sasuke then somebody else must have won her heart; even after all I have done and all we have been through together. And she did not tell me, she must not want to hurt my feelings…'_ he thought solemnly as his crying was fading.

In his own heart he realized he had to let her go. Sakura deserved to be happy as wonderful of a woman as he thought she was. If someone did come along that he really loved, he would have to go after that person and not have the emotional baggage. _'For Sakura'_ he thought of her own chance at happiness as he vowed to move on.

"I see…" was all he could muster as his face took on a mix sad and stoic expression which Sakura immediately noticed. _'I wonder what he is thinking about now, he went from absolutely devastated to melancholy'_ she thought.

She turned her gaze up to the sky looking at the clouds as they passed slowly. _'I can't lose Naruto, he has done so much for me. He's always been by my side watching over me, and trusting me. I can't…I can't lose him'_ she thought as her heart strings threated to release new tears.

She felt Naruto's hand land on her shoulder and she looked over to him catching his gaze.

"Thank you Sakura" her eyebrows raised in surprise.

"For helping me understand that I do deserve to be loved, that I will know when I need to pursue that person". He added quickly.

And disappeared in the gentle breeze of wind that Sakura felt as she stared where he had just been sitting alongside her.

Her mouth hung open as she tried to process what just happened.

_'He left'_ she felt her heart drop. And he disappeared using a technique she never seen him use nor heard of for that matter. Not like the Shunshin, it was too silent, just as if he was a mirage in the desert that faded away. Just how much has she missed out on concerning him, or how much has he hid from her?


	2. Chapter 2 - His Resolve

Complete awareness... A feeling of having no weight…. The feeling of having no body enthralled his senses. This was one of his secrets… Nature is a powerful force, a powerful ally to have if you can prove yourself worthy of handling its immense power it grants. Those overwhelmed, returned to nature as stone, monuments to the warriors of bye gone ages whom tried and failed to control its power.

Naruto was one of the few individuals to attain this level of mastery. His sage powers have blossomed into insane heights. New areas of possibilities are at his fingertips due to his mastery over nature itself. It wasn't mastery so much as it was giving in to nature completely. Becoming the will of nature and vice versa willing nature into his own intent.

Naruto loved the feeling of becoming one with the existence of nature. He turned his physical form into something else which flowed through Kohona that night after departing Sakura's side.

He molded his body into an indiscernibly thin sheet that spread past the width of the village of which he could continuously keep stretching. Using the mental image of his home in his mind, he felt his house and in an instant he came back into existence in front of his door.

The memory of the look on Sakura's face looking into his own as he had laid his hand on her shoulder before flowing away stood out in his mind. The young woman he loved so much, yet had resolved to letting her go for her own happiness and determined to find his own, felt a smile come to the corner of his mouth.

_'For you Sakura, I'll someday find the woman to make me happy… Thank you for helping me thru this…'_ He thought lovingly.

Sakura simply stared at the spot where Naruto was before he disappeared. She felt tears fall down her cheeks as the soft sounds of some villagers moving about off in the distance paraded by. She ran her hand over the spot where Naruto had previously sat and could feel the warmth still there. She could also feel the cool dampness from what she could only surmise were the places his tears had fallen which didn't catch on his clothes.

She couldn't help but notice that it appeared that tiny little pieces of greenery seemed to of been growing in the areas his tears fell. She just lightly ran her fingers over the growths and mentally snickered at the thought of Naruto crying up flowers. It was a nice reprieve from her mental state up until now. She just shrugged however immediately dismissing that observation and stood to go home, to get some much needed sleep after the revelations he made about what Hinata had said, as it was still sinking into her mind and heart.

_Later that week…_

"Ugh, Baa-chan, have we not already gone over this?" Naruto stated somewhat peeved.

"You know what you're asking brat? Those missions are special cases, of which some of them have special objectives which I don't think you should be handling!" The blonde Hokage blasted back with her usual authority.

"While you can keep me a genin as long as you want, I just want to get a chance to do some different missions for once. I wouldn't mind trying my hand at the cloak and dagger stuff." Naruto continued as he was trying to get a rise out of her.

_'Would be a great opportunity to get better at using my spacial control and plus I got some ideas I want to try out' _he thought about his unnamed technique.

"I could use the time to, you know, get out there and find a wife!" he proclaimed as he batted his eye lids leaning over her desk.

"You've got about 10 seconds to get out of here you idiot, otherwise you're going to be paying a visit to your _D-E-A-R_ Sakura-chan" Tsunade said very calmly while she had a couple veins popping out of her forehead.

Oh no, he won't let her get away with that one.

"Whatever you say… my sweet old hag" Naruto said mischievously smiling with eyes squinted as he had turned around and proceeded to walk out the door to her office.

The next thing Naruto knew was a blunt object had struck him on the back of his head as he had started walking down the stairs which rapidly increased his progress as he tumbled forward flipping with the force of whatever decked him.

Once Naruto stopped tumbling down and felt his head hit something that definitely was not a wood railing or wall. His body was still slouched up the steps, with his feet furthest up. He first just let out a slight groan with his eyes closed from the painful ordeal.

He then opened his eyes to the peculiar sight of what appeared to be black knee-high boots as he followed them up to bare legs, and then further up to what was unquestionably red panties under a pink ninja blouse attire.

"Ah… shit…." Was all he could say in that exact moment.

"Naruto… Do I have to even ask what you are looking at right now?" Was the sweet voice of Sakura, or as sweet as she could keep while trying to control the billowing rage.

_'Oh Kami, how in the hell did I just get myself into this situation? '_ she thought as she instantly was regretting coming to talk to Tsunade-sama about being paired with Naruto on some missions to get some time to see him as he's been missing since they had that talk.

"While I admire the view, care to let me know when you're going to ki-" Naruto got out

"**NOW!**" Sakura screamed as she put all her strength into a punch that was aimed squarely at the floor between her legs.

'POOF' sounded over the ambient sounds of shattering glass and creaking wood from a certain recent event as Naruto appeared outside the Hokage building around the corner, against the wall.

"Gosh damn, that was close!" was all he said as he immediately hopped up on the buildings and began running away for his life.

_'The irony, to get the best seat in the house view of her panties after what has recently happened between us' _Naruto mused as it definitely appeared that life has a heck of a sense of humor.

_'Naruto, you better of enjoyed that as you are SO DEAD once I catch you, and I will…_' was all Sakura could think initially as she instantly appeared to have open the 8th gate as she bolted off in pursuit of Naruto.

As she ran in pursuit, no thoughts of Hinata, or the loss she cried over for nights previously were in her mind. In that moment all she could think about was finding Naruto. That passion for Naruto, it drove her wild like some pent up emotion that just finally exploded. She didn't realize how strongly her feelings could get until something as unexpected as this. Naruto got a good look in her mind at her most intimate spot. She didn't waiver in that moment as she realized the opportunity, she let him have a good look to see what he would do, and he kept looking.

It proved to her that he still has at the least, desires for her. Something to chase for, and something to fight for was all she could think while her eyes were blazing looking from building to building for any clue of which way he was going. Her vision was extra sharp, the byakugan in that moment would probably of had a run for its money so-to-speak. Images from her memories of Naruto fighting for her, and batting with her back-to-back flooded into her mind and drove her heart to pump stronger so her body could be pushed harder.

She caught her clues in the villagers below as they looked off into the direction Naruto had bolted pointing. She was onto her prey, she let that passion and desire of what she felt when Naruto was looking between her legs, when she was in such a vulnerable spot, however brief it was. She might kill him for it, but she would find him first, and prove to herself that she could find him, her Naruto.

And there he was… She flanked him and got herself in a position she could keep pace with him and watch as he bounded from building to building behind and off to the side. She watched as he would jump up and bound to the next build.

She was already thinking of wonderful ways to terrify and torcher this fur ball, when she noticed up ahead the Konohamaru corps hiding off to the side as they were watching Naruto approaching them ahead on a building.

_'What are these brats up to?'_ she thought as she watched Naruto bound in the air to their building.

She then got her answer as she watched him 'land' only to continue falling thru the floor which now was a sheet that gathered around him as he fell into the building. Smoke bombs went off as this happened and she saw the Konohamaru corps jump in to the hole Naruto disappeared into like they were ambushing him.

A soft smile graced her lips as she witnessed this and bounded off in their direction ensuring she was masking her chakra as she did so.

_'YOU…. LITTLE… BASTARDS….'_ Was all Naruto could think as he laid in a heap on the floor, unable to see and tangled up in the 'floor' he so wonderfully had just fallen through.

"GOTCHA!" Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon bellowed all at once as they posed triumphantly above Naruto pointing their shuriken at him.

"We win!" they shouted as they all jumped.

"You cheated, I had Sakura after me! That's no fair I was distracted!" Naruto yelled with the crew still on top of him jumping up and down.

"You knew the mission, you were to go to baa-chan and get her to kick you out and we'd try to ambush you after that. We got you fair and square! We just used the situation to our advantage!" Konohamaru beamed.

_'Ah, so that's why he was bugging Tsunade-sama, he was playing ninja with them'_ she thought as she smiled to herself. Naruto, no matter what he made sure his precious people were always happy, even the Konohamaru corps, it wasn't beneath him to play ninja with them when they wanted.

_'He's so great with kids…'_ she thought lovingly as different feelings took over her mind and heart as she watched the crew celebrating on top of Naruto laying down ruffled form as he just laughed and started to give them high fives.

"Did baa-chan give you want you wanted?" Konohamaru asked.

"No, but I got something else I always was dying to see" Naruto answered back, causing Konohamaru to have a confused look on his face.

Before Konohamaru could ask, suddenly familiar boots appeared again each next to Naruto's head as Sakura stood over him very similarly to how they were before at the foot of the stairs.

Her green eyes looking softly down to him with a smile that looked like it hid behind it… death.

"Did you now?" she asked demurely as the Konohamaru corps scattered seeing who it was.

"I always imagined them a different color" Naruto responded as he had a slight ironic smile on his face.

"Well get another look so you don't have to imagine them" she responded rising to his challenge as she adjusted to make sure he could see everything he wanted to.

Naruto just looked up admiring the view before him. To him this moment was worth it, all the fighting he's done up to this point, this was a just reward so he might as well bask in it for this fleeting moment.

He couldn't help but notice that he could easily make out her form hidden underneath the panties leaving really nothing to his imagination.

His view of her panties and form underneath were replaced with her fist.

_'Even her nails are painted red today…'_ he thought laughing to himself as he couldn't help but notice her nail polish color as her fist got close.

'BAM'.


	3. Chapter 3 - Her Vow

Very sharp and pulsating pains were Naruto's first indicator that he was coming back to the real world. He grimaced and clutched his head instinctively hissing in pain as he did so, particularly over the nice love tap courtesy of Sakura.

_'Finally, your stirring after I had to beat some sense into you'_ thought Sakura as she remembered her handy work she had to exercise on Naruto as she sat next to him in his bedroom. She had to lug the poor sack of potatoes after she manhandled him, further solidifying her monstrous image of a red devil in the minds of the Konohamaru corps.

"Holy… Sakura… Headache…" slipped out a little louder than intended from Naruto.

"**WHAT WAS THAT!?**" came a loud and completely unexpected voice to him in his barely waking up state.

Startled, Naruto jumped up in a fighting stance without even opening his eyes yet as if he were ready to fight an intruder to his personal space - kunai drawn.

Sakura couldn't believe what she was seeing once he jumped up…

There stood Naruto on his bed in his apartment, kunai drawn facing the wall away from her like a buffoon.

_'How the heck do you face away from your supposed opponent!?'_ she screamed mentally as she rolled her eyes while fighting back the urge to bust out laughing.

"And they call you the strongest ninja in the village…" came the highly amused voice of Sakura as she couldn't help but start to lose the battle of the giggles.

Naruto cracked an eye open and leveled it at her as he looked over his shoulder at her laughing and source of that voice.

"Pfft… who says that?" he quipped as he tried to downplay his fame within the village.

"Oh, just about… everyone" she said smiling as she thought of the villagers and how highly they talk of him when she walks around town with him.

To her, this was such a fulfilling thing to witness and really hit soft spots on her heart. Naruto, was true to his word in that he gained the acceptance and recognition of the village. She beamed with pride as she witnessed his ascension to that level.

"I never heard _YOU_ say it…" Naruto said jokingly squinting his visible eye at her.

"They don't know you as well as I do… _IDIOT_" she said back playfully, and that certainly was true.

Sakura knew Naruto better than anyone, even though sometimes she felt she couldn't read him as well as she thought she could. Especially when he let her know about his own self-doubts and how he viewed himself as a village demon. That bothered her immensely and somewhat rocked her foundations with her perceived understanding of him. She wanted to still talk to him about that, but decided to save it for another time.

"Well thanks for at least bringing me back to my place this time" he said truthfully. She had left him before mostly in crumpled heaps on the ground when she had to knock some sense back into him from time to time, but as he got older he needed less of that she noticed.

"Yea… I should of left you where you were for that stunt you pulled" she said somewhat embarrassed as she thought back to the whole reason she had to knock him out for in the first place.

_'There's that smile of his, one of his real ones…'_ she thought as she noticed one of his 'true' smiles grace his face as he laughed at her response.

She knew his face like a book and could tell the different emotions and thought's going thru his mind based on his face. This smile was something special, usually reserved for special things. That made her feel a sense of accomplishment - the knowledge that she could make someone that close to her genuinely happy.

"You can thank the old hag for that…" he said as he laughed.

"Hey! You shouldn't call Tsunade-shishou that! It's disrespectful!" she said back a little irked.

_'How the heck is shishou involved in you getting a freaking peek!?'_ she thought incredulously.

She watched as his laughs subsided and he grew a more serious expression on his face as he turned to look at her.

"I was there to put in my name for the Ni-Yurei" he said somewhat in a low voice.

"What…! WHY!?" she said full of concern as her voice elevated towards the end.

"Naruto, you know what they say about that group. They have the hardest missions of our village and I've heard from Ino that there are even ones that are… not… morally acceptable. Why would you even want to be a part of that?" she continued worriedly.

"I…I'm first and foremost a weapon. If I am ever going to be strong enough to truly protect all the people that are precious to me, I need to be at the front of what is the hardest line of duty I can perform. I need to get stronger, not for the reasons Sasuke did, but instead to be a protector…The Ni-Yurei is that path…" He stated as he looked her directly in the eyes unwaveringly.

_'And I need to make sure I can protect you and whomever I do find to love from anything, so I must get truly strong'_ he thought.

"Sakura, please understand, that you are very important to me, as well as this village and its people. I cannot lose you… your like family to me, and the only family I have aside from my teme brother that is running around out there" he said as he broke eye contact with her as his eyes fell down and he looked away to something seemingly more important on the floor as he thought about her denouncing her feelings for Sasuke back when they had their talk.

_'Like… family…?'_ she thought as her brain tried analyzing what that meant in her position with Naruto as that would imply she's more like a…sister? A part of her felt momentarily embarrassed about what she did with him earlier if he really only thought of her like…a sister.

_'But his actions proved otherwise right?'_ She asked herself….

Tears threatened to fall from her eyes as she thought about being Naruto's only family and what that must be like for him. But it also meant that she is one of his most precious people to be considered like family to him.

_'I can't just be a sister to you Naruto, I want so much more, I need so much more. I have to find a way to help you see that.'_ She thought as tears were now falling from her eyes.

"Sakura?" he asked as he noticed her tears.

"Am I really like family to you, even after what…what happened between us earlier?" she asked meekly between some soft sniffles.

"…..it's…. complicated Sakura. That's something I need to figure out as I do want to follow your advice about… love. I need to talk to Hinata, but I haven't quite thought of what I am going to say to her, or do for that matter…" he said solemnly.

_'He skirted my question about our intimate moment together earlier…'_ she couldn't help but notice with his response.

"Ah, H-Hinata…." She mumbled out as fresh tears came down and she thought about the implications of that.

_'There must be a way I can be with you… I have to fight for you…'_ she thought when suddenly her tear laden eyes widened as her brain thought of something concerning the Ni-Yurei.

"Naruto, we've been teammates our whole ninja careers, I'm not going to let you do this alone, I can't let you do this alone…" she said as she looked at his form with renewed determination which blossomed into a plan.

"W-What?" he asked as he looked up to meet crying emerald eyes staring straight at him with a look of determination that could bore into his soul.

"You know how the ghost teams work, the 2 man teams are required to be mutually volunteered teams only. We have to take the oath to each other. I… WILL BE… your teammate" she said with absolution as she looked into those ocean blue eyes that widened as she made her case to him.

"Sakura…" was all Naruto could muster as he saw the determination in her face and the thoughts of the implications of the danger she would be in dawned upon him.

_'That look on her face… there is no way I can change her mind about this…'_ he thought as he studied her.

"Sakura… Please think about this. From what you heard from Ino, this is likely going to be some very tough things we would have to deal with… I'm not even sure I am ready for it, much less having to drag you into it because of me" he said.

Sakura got up and walked over to Naruto and placed her hands on his shoulders looking him in the eyes.

"Naruto… if we are family… blood is thicker than water" was all she said in response.

He knew exactly what she meant, in a brief moment he could see into her mind when her hands landed on his shoulders. Like when he would fight with Sasuke and they would come into physical contact with each other during their battles.

_'Elite ninja's can see into each other and understand each other when they fight without the need for words…' - Sasuke U. _

He felt her emotions in that moment, he felt her need to protect him, her devotion to him, and almost a hint of something else that he couldn't quite place as it was hidden.

"I…. I understand Sakura, and…. thank you" was all he could muster as he started to get a realization about how complicated their lives were potentially going to be if Tsunade would allow them to volunteer for the Ni-Yurei.

"Tomorrow we'll go talk to Tsunade-shishou Naruto" was all Sakura said as she made to leave his house but paused briefly at the door.

"And Naruto" she said catching his attention.

"You are not a weapon, you are Uzumaki Naruto, and you are very precious to me" was all she said as she then turned and walked off.

All Naruto could do was watch her receding figure fade as she walked away seemingly somewhere with intent.


	4. Chapter 4 - An Unexpected Distraction

_'you are very precious to me'_ \- Sakura's words reverberated within Naruto's mind as he walked out of his house into the night and he recalled the look of care on her face when she told him those words and left.

_'I wish you could understand what your missing Sasuke…. you yearned for your family, we were part of your family despite how much you tried to hide it. I could see it in your mannerisms that you thought of us like that. You would have liked this Sasuke…'_ was all Naruto could think of solemnly as he thought about his missing brother after what Sakura said.

To Naruto, this was his chance to feel what family was like for him, his team were the closest people to him, like family. And one of them was missing, although by choice, it still pained him.

_'And what am I getting Sakura into, with the Ni-Yurei… I need to protect her'_ was all he could think of as he had an image of her in his mind. To Naruto, everything came hard for him to learn, he had to struggle, but the struggles always paid off in spades.

As Naruto explored his nature mode and the powers it gave him in training, he kept feeling his body being pulled in different directions. Like with his ability to control the physical space he took up, when he let nature take hold of him and instinctively drive his control of it, he found he could do things that were not on any scrolls. It appeared to him there was still plenty about Nature that shinobi and the past wielders of its immense powers had not discovered or recorded their findings about.

This was important, to Naruto, he believed completely in the power it could give him to protect those that are precious to him. And he needed to really discover its true potential and that meant hard training. Training which Naruto was pretty much legendarily known for doing.

**_'YOUR GOING TO GET HER KILLED…'_** growled in his mind as he thought of his determination with becoming strong to protect his loved ones.

There it was, the Kyuubi… The entity in his mind and a source of one of his major powers. In the past he fought major battles within himself with the 9 tailed fox demon. However over their trials and tribulations he has started to achieve a sort of peace with it along with starting to really master his powers granted to him by the Kyuubi.

Unbeknownst to Naruto, the Kyuubi did realize more and more of just how different of a person he was. In the past his previous jailers would either try to strong arm the demon into submission or simply contain him and keep him at bay. Naruto faced the Kyuubi head on, but also held a respect for what the Kyuubi was. Naruto's actions over time had slowly started to chip away at the Kyuubi's distrust of him and his role as a jinjuriki. The Kyuubi realized that this young man was very different from anyone he had met before…except for one…. the sage of the 6 paths.

_'I need your help in getting stronger to protect her, along with everyone else that is precious to me'_ Naruto answered back in his mind.

There it was…. that trust Naruto had in the Kyuubi. Over time the distrust Naruto had when he was a child and a teen changed to trust and almost dare say it - a bond between him and the Kyuubi. In the past it used to get on the Kyuubi's nerves due to him thinking all humans were not trustworthy and the gall of this young man to feel like that for a demon. However overtime that distrust faded in the Kyuubi like it did with Naruto. Naruto backed up his words with actions and kept to them.

_'You alone are a power - but not just a power - you are a being and like a friend, together we can truly be strong and protect them' _he replied in his mind. This is a fundamental basis in Naruto's beliefs.

_'Alone, you cannot achieve as much as you can by working together with those that believe in you and those that you believe in' _\- Otsutsuki Asura

That passage Naruto could recall during times he pillaged in the pervy sage's scrolls to read about some of the stories hidden within them when the self-proclaimed super pervert was asleep in his post sex-escapades laden hangovers. It gave Naruto chances to learn more about past history and knowledge which Naruto was actually very keen to, but kept that trait pretty quiet as back in his Academy days instructors tried to hold him back.

_'While you walk the path of lone avenger, Sasuke…'_ Naruto briefly thought. The deviations in the two brothers beliefs are paths that lead to completely different potential endings Naruto realized early on.

**_'WHILE THAT MAY BE TRUE, I STILL DON'T TRUST YOUR KIND…'_** growled back in response.

To Naruto, the Kyuubi did offer up advice or at least perceived advice from time to time - which usually turned out to be right. Probably chalking that up to 1,000+ years, giving a good amount of time to learn things about the world, which Naruto admittedly had no idea of.

Naruto despite his upbringing has always been an aspiring idealist and often looked at situations in positive ways or at least tried. Being a young man, he still can be a bit naïve.

And when he stopped to look around he found himself near the Hokage monument as he gazed up looking at the stone faces in the night as they were softly light by the moonlight. Naruto knew he could capitalize on his newfound nature ability for his spacial manipulation. He just needed to find ways to make it offensive focused.

Looking at a spot on the monument cliff face, his eyes turned into horizontal frog-like slits with a thin dark shadow around his eyes signifying his transition into sage mode. He focused on the spot and in a whim he rematerialized there hanging sideways off the cliff with his jacket giving away his orientation as it hung down.

He softly gazed over the village, feeling all the chakra of its inhabitants below, including one that was directly at the base of the Hokage monument. His sensory had a staggering range while in sage mode, reaching well beyond the limits of the village and behind the mountains in a circular form. He could feel the shapes of the land and the people as he focused on parts.

But also he could see like an overlay of his surroundings on his vision for parts that he couldn't see with his naked eye along with the natural energy signatures. From behind him as he looked down at the village he could see in his mind's eye where the top of the cliff was.

_'I need to materialize up there in a place I can't see directly without looking at it'_ he thought as he mulled about trying to make his ability offense focused.

After all of his fights with Sasuke and that Sharingan he certainly knew the value in trying to eliminate the ability to be able to read his movements to make him harder to anticipate. Knowing that nature energy was a different energy from chakra (albeit intertwined), Naruto hoped that it could be a good answer to the Sharingan.

Naruto hesitated with slight fear, as while Nature seemed to pull him to where he wanted to be, he tried to control it and appear where he was looking at in his mind's eye to make sure he didn't miss.

_'SHIT!'_ was all Naruto could think as he materialized off the ledge and began to fall down the cliff face.

**_'THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR THINKING ABOUT IT'_** the Kyuubi snorted in his mind.

He tried using any appendage to grab hold of the cliff face via chakra as his body kind of tumbled against the cliff face in spots as he fell but it was no use as he'd just dislodge the earth of the cliff face and keep falling. In some spots he scraped down and others just completely free fell.

_'Crap! I can't stop!'_ he panicked as he couldn't help but notice as the ground was coming up really fast.

And there it was, his beacon, that chakra signature at the base of the monument.

_'WHEW!'_ Naruto thought as he focused on the signature and this time, let nature pull him instead of try to aim like he did last time.

_'Kami, I wish you'd drop a wonderful guy in my li-'_ Ino mused as she picked flowers at the Hokage mountain's base.

**_'OOOOF!' _**were the only sounds made by a male and female as they both rolled in a tangle of bodies away from the Hokage monument into the trees away from the base.

**_'SMOOTH ONE KIT'_** quipped in his mind.

Pain registered first with the kunoichi as she felt like she got hit with a ton of bricks.

Naruto while feeling only some slight pain thought about how he must have kept his momentum falling as he materialized next to the poor soul and leveled them.

Naruto could feel the warmth of the person on his body and particularly his face as he tried to shake off what just happened.

"Ugh, so sorry about that" Naruto said in a barely audible and mumbled mash against the person as he still laid there happy to no longer be falling. Although he knew the fall wouldn't really hurt him due to his sage mode, the feeling was no less as scary as his natural instincts to fear an impending doom took over.

"W-What the heck just happened…" said a groggy womanly voice.

Ino blinked her eyes open to see a view of the stars in the beautiful night's sky. What she could also feel was a very warm feeling as she was obviously covered by a body as she thought about the voice she heard still trying to make out what it said.

She looked down to her body to see the obstructed view of blonde hair with some of the lilies she picked mixed in, that trademark Kohona forehead protected and a closed eyed face laying on her right breast.

She could feel the heat of his breath and slight wetness of his mouth as they were scrunched up against her right breast which was now free of her purple top with her nipple resting under Naruto's mouth making contact with his lips.

"Oh my god" Ino mumbled as she realized immediately who it was and turned a bright shade of red.

Here laid the village hero on her, it appeared that Kami had indeed answered her request as she made a face of a fish out of water. The normally flirty Ino was just reduced into an embarrassed mess. Leave it to the most unpredictable ninja.

Naruto could feel the nub on his lips and moved them a little before realizing that something felt off when he also heard a corresponding womanly noise that sound like a vocalization of some sort and felt the body underneath him twitch.

Naruto opened his eyes to see what dawned on him was obviously a bare breast and looked up to see the owner of said soft and plush lifesaving mound.

What Ino did not expect to see was the power in his eyes. The look of the horizontally slitted eyes that looked like nothing she had ever seen on a human before except for something you'd see on say a frog was surprising to say the least.

The look of his eyes immediately evaporated any bit of desire to try to get out from underneath him instantly. Naruto she knew has matured from a teen to a very desirable young man, but seeing him this close and in this state turned her on immensely.

This experience she was having with the village hero is something she knew many ladies in the village would fight for, and yet it was her that was having it. She'd have to tell her fellow kunoichi about this to gloat at the very least.

_'That blush on her face, I'd say she likes this situation…'_ Naruto thought as he felt a sense of pride to be able to be desirable.

Ino adjusted her legs to ensure that Naruto was resting in between her pelvis to pelvis as she was rapidly losing any inhibitions she may have had. This Naruto was intoxicating, nothing like what she heard before, even with the ways women looked at him and talked about him with desire. This was a totally different level than she could ever expect.

_'Kami, I… I want him so bad right now'_ she thought as she could feel her lower pair of lips getting wet with the feeling of Naruto's pelvic region pushed up against her as he laid on her.

When Ino shifted, Naruto immediately knew what she was thinking and he could feel himself get aroused with his package pushed up against her as he felt himself start to grow with his arousal.

"Mmmm" was also Ino could say as she felt Naruto start to get hard against her and she could feel herself get really moist and wet thru her panties.

An image of Sakura flashed in Naruto's mind and he instantly started to feel a little bit of guilt.

_'You have to think of her like a sister'_ he thought to himself as he was trying to keep his mind in a state that he believed she could find happiness in that he would not go after her like he did when they were younger all the time.

But he knew deep down, that he did wish he was sharing this moment with Sakura.

"I… I'm sorry Ino. For falling on you like that" Naruto stammered as he carefully tried to get up and not rub too much against her. But he failed as Ino whimpered slightly as his member really rubbed into her when he shifted to get his weight off of his lower region inadvertently putting it all there.

Ino inhaled sharply with exhilaration when she felt his member push hard onto her as she was instantly hating the fact they were both still wearing clothes.

"Tha-that's okay Naruto, you don't… have to get up" she said somewhat subdued as she realized he was getting up as she looked at the bulge in his pants and could see a strand of clear liquid stuck to the tip of the bulge on this pants as he pulled away. It was clear she was really turned on and probably close to ovulating judging by the strand of juice that got pulled away that seeped thru her panties.

"I…I'm sorry about that, I kind of got caught up in the moment, I'm not really… one to just do something like that" he said somewhat embarrassed while she still looked into his mesmerizing sage eyes. She caught his drift, which he wasn't one to just sleep around.

Despite their violent lives as ninja, she realized that he still stuck to some set of morals, she admitted to herself that her morals were a bit less although she hadn't had actual sex yet. She knew that she would have allowed him to take her. And she would in any situation with him; this is the village hero standing before her as he offered his hand out.

She respected him greatly, and that respect also manifested itself in her as a desire to be intimate with him.

She took his outstretched hand and he picked her up.

"I am not going to lie Ino, you are a really beautiful woman, especially even more so after seeing you like this" he said as he put her breast back under her garment and fixed her attire slightly.

"I also think your 'little' Naruto agrees" she smirked as she wiggled her eye brows on the 'little' part looking down.

It was Naruto's turn to blush. Of all things this mighty sage does, blushing is not really one of them, yet there he was blushing in front of her as he tried to lamely adjust himself to get himself settled down and stop pitching a tent.

In doing this adjustment he got Ino's juices on his hand as he looked at it not realizing what it was and instinctually put it up to his nose to smell it like he would typically do with strange things out in the field when he was tracking.

Ino watched excitedly knowing what he was going to smell as he got a really curious look on his face as his eyes opened slightly wider and she could literally see the marks on his cheeks turn darker.

What also surprised her was that his horizontally slitted eyes turned into a cross shaped that changed color to a red. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up with extreme sexual desire as she realized that he just got turned on and the power his figure and eyes radiated as she saw them pierce directly into hers.

Naruto felt an immense demand for a euphoric desire aimed squarely at Ino. The smell of her juices was incredibly intoxicating to him and he instantly got hard again. He was fighting really hard against the desire to walk over to her and rip her panties down and mount her and pound away at her body.

The Kyuubi's tendencies rubbed off on him over time as they slowly grew closer together, and the smell of her juices turned him on just as it would an animal. His needs turned primal and they were blindingly hard for him to fight as he rushed up to Ino and pushed her against a nearby tree with his member pushed up directly against her lips underneath her panties.

"Please… Naruto… You and I both want this, please take me, right here… right now" she practically begged in a whisper in his ear as she wrapped her arms around him and ran her fingers into his hair in the back of his head. Her right leg was lifted up onto his body to allow him to get direct access.

Naruto wrapped her up in a heated kiss as he reached down and was running the tip of the bulge in his pants up and down between her pussy lips thru her panties that he could easily feel.

An image of Sakura flashed in his mind again, and brought him back to his senses. As he tensed with Ino's moans sounded in his ear with his ministrations.

His mental bout with where Sakura stood in his love life resumed again in his mind.

He slowly stopped and held Ino tightly.

"I am sorry Ino, this…. this is hard for me to do…" he mumbled into her ear.

She knew what he was talking about as used to be so obvious how he felt for the pinkette.

_'Sakura'_ she thought.

Her grip on his head tightened in acknowledgement.

"Why… do you have to be such a damn good guy cheeks?" she responded back after a short pause to gather her thoughts.

_'Kami, I wish you'd drop a wonderful guy in my li-' _she thought back to what she was originally thought.

_'You really did drop a wonderful guy in my lap, he's too wonderful to a fault… He's someone I would give myself to, but I guess it will have to be when the situation is right'_ she thought longing of him. She knew he'd be worth it judging just alone by how he got her so worked up unlike guys in the past that she dated.

_'I'm claiming him forehead since you haven't'_ she thought about her rival.

"Cheeks?" Naruto replied as he pulled back to look at her.

She ran her soft hands against his cheeks which were still dark as a previous sign to his lust for her and brushed her fingers against his whiskers.

She'd love to call him whiskers because to her they were so cute, but she knew also thought that might hurt his feelings and this was someone she wouldn't dare want to screw up with.

"Your cheeks, they gave me a good idea of what you were thinking when…" she said with a soft smile on her face as she looked into Naruto's eyes.

"Oh yea… hah, thanks… Lanky" Naruto said smiling back.

"Hey! Why you calling me lanky!" said Ino as she broke out into her normal not shy attitude as she ran her hand down the side of her body emphasizing her breasts and lovely hips and rear.

"Well it felt like I ran over a skeleton when I originally ran into you" he replied sneakily as he jokingly lifted his eyebrows like his famous super pervert sensei.

"But I do agree after getting a firsthand touchy feely session with you, that you have some killer curves" he said smiling causing Ino to blush.

"There we go… THAT was the answer I was looking for" she said as she lightly punched his shoulder.

"Next time we find ourselves in this situation cheeks, you better give it to me…" she said demurely as she moved up close to him to look at him.

"..ah-" Naruto stammered somewhat embarrassed.

"shhhhh" she said as she placed a finger over his mouth to quiet him.

She then gave him a nice crotch tap in a friendly manner that kinda hurt him like some guys are known to do as a joke.

"Ooof" was all he could muster as he keeled over as she jumped into the trees and left leaving him covering his crotch in pain.

_'Troublesome'_ the image of Shikamaru saying that famous catchphrase of his sprang into Naruto's mind.


	5. Chapter 5 - A Rival In Love

Sitting back atop the head of the 4th Hokage that same night, Naruto went back to overlooking the village. The village was busy being rebuilt after the attack that Pein had unleashed and it was starting to resemble the village it used to be prior to the Chibaku Tensei unleashed upon it.

That attraction/repulsion force that Nagato used was a very unpleasant experience to deal with. But within that experience, Naruto did learn of a particular capability of his Kyuubi chakra cloak.

The ability for him to control himself by being able to anchor himself into the ground to resist the pulls and likewise overpower the repulsions used against him turned out to be a deciding factor in his ability to defeat Pein. It was something that he would need to develop further as having the ability to manifest appendages when needed was extremely useful.

It was also something that in the past he recalled using against Sasuke instinctually when they originally fought at the valley of the end causing the Uchiha to not be able to face Naruto in hand-to-hand combat, and instead opt for ranged attacks. The thought of an Uchiha not willing to face a single opponent whom didn't have the Sharingan in hand-to-hand combat would have been absurd to Sasuke's ancestors Naruto mused.

Yet Naruto knew that he was starting to capitalize on his powers just like Sasuke had with his own Sharingan. With these abilities he was being able to match and overpower Sasuke at certain times. But while he realized the potential for his power, there was one key difference between him and Sasuke.

Naruto still relied on those around him for help within battles and worked with those he was with. Sasuke always felt more like they were a burden, despite at times working together with Naruto in battles and seemingly being undefeatable when they were a duo on their missions as team 7.

Naruto knew he would need all the power he could obtain, along with his teamwork with Sakura when they would meet Sasuke again. And speaking of Sakura, he knew he had to continue to help her grow in her Kunoichi abilities. She worked amazing well with Naruto when they were together, and unlike Sasuke, Naruto always acknowledged her capabilities and tried to help her grow to get better with her together.

_'Together_' he thought.

The image of Sakura popped in Naruto's mind as he thought back to them potentially being together in the Ni-Yurei.

Sakura was the one person in this world that he trusted above all else. She was always fighting with him, and she inherently trusted him back the same. She always had his back and he had hers in battle.

A smile graced his face as he shunshin'ed away back down to the village below.

While he could materialize around the village, that still required his sage mode, and he would prefer to keep his capabilities on the down low as to not let those things becomes the talk of the village and by proxy potential enemies knowing more about him.

Naruto had become more world weary with his travels with Jiraiya-sensei and took the teachings of his mentor to heart.

Naruto found himself in front of Ichiraku Ramen as he came to enjoy a meal at his favorite place. Even at night the place was packed with people. People knew where Naruto came to eat and because of it the ramen shop became the #1 spot to eat in Kohona.

Naruto stepped into the small temporary abode that still looked like it was under construction, he only ever needed to smell Ichiraku ramen to know where the shop was. He paused as he looked over the crowd and spotted his designated spot that Ayame-chan and Ichi-chan always set aside for him, their most devoted customer.

As he walked to his spot a young woman with brown hair running down to her mid-back with a Kohona forehead protector put her hand on his arm grabbing his attention.

"Apologies Naruto-kun, but you have some flowers in your hair" she said blushing as she looked at them.

"Oh! Thanks for letting me know…" Naruto responded smiling as he ran his fingers thru his hair gathering up the flowers he felt and handed them to the ninja in front of him.

The young woman gladly accepted them and bowed as she sported a mega blush and was instantly swamped by her table of friends as she sat back down with them.

_'Whew, that was close! Sakura would pound me into next week if she ever got a hint of me with Ino'_ Naruto sweat dropped as he sat down at his spot.

"What will it be Naru-kun?" The usual sweet voice of Ayame-chan caught his attention.

"The usual, a bowl of miso please Aya-chan" Naruto smiled back as she accepted his order and went back to putting together the orders.

"How are things going Naru-kun?" Ayame asked as she noticed he sat there with a far off look on his face.

"Uh, kinda complicated I guess you can say Aya-chan" he responded.

"Oh? …Like what?" she asked back now that he had her attention even more so.

"Women…" he responded looking back at her with a slight smile on his face.

"Hey! You're not becoming a womanizer are you!" she scolded back at him pouting.

"Would a… I didn't intend to count?" he shot back with a kind of slight embarrassment.

"Well, you are pretty popular Naru-kun" she said as she thought about it. She always could easily see the looks on the young women's faces of both civilians and ninja's alike when Naruto was around.

"I guess… But you know me, I didn't intend to be like this, I just wanted the villagers recognition" he said back.

"Well you got it Naru-kun, it's pretty common for women to really like a man that saves their village, and that would likely turn into some offers" she said back smiling at him.

"Oh it has…." he thought back as he replied without thinking about it.

"Ohhhh really!" she said beaming back.

'Crap, last I need is Aya-chan getting the dirt on me' he thought.

"Hey now, that's a story for another day, is my ramen ready?" he shot back playfully trying to change the subject.

"Just keep it in your pants Naru-kun, you're not a little kid anymore, unless that is… if you want kids!" she said laughing.

Naruto took on a soft smile as he thought about having a child. It was not something that he originally thought about much. But he really did want a family. Growing up without one, it was something he truly wanted above all else. More than being a Hokage, he always wanted a child to shower with love and attention - which he didn't have growing up.

Ayame took note of his soft smile and got her answer in a subtle way. She just smiled at him, knowing that he had a hard upbringing. She knew how much he cared about children as she would see him playing with the Konohamaru corps and bringing them over to eat.

"But you got it on good authority that'd you would be a great dad Naru-kun" she said causing him to really smile.

"Thank you Aya-chan" was all he could say to that, it really tugged at his heart to hear something from someone like Aya-chan. Ayame and Ichiraku have always been very good to him, even when he was only known as the village demon amongst the older generation and treated as one.

He pushed back a tear threatening to fall as he cleared his nostrils and started to eat his ramen.

For some reason the thought of Jiraiya-sensei popped in his mind as he couldn't help but think about what was required in order to have children.

_Flashback…_

Naruto stepped out of the room with a beautiful looking woman and walked back to a table with his sensei sitting down enjoying some Sake.

They both sat in a brothel in wave country with Jiraiya-sensei sitting opposite end of the table as he looked back at Naruto like he was an alien.

"So what's the deal with you not sleeping with your first hooker I got for you to celebrate your birthday brat!" Jiraiya bellowed as he laughed.

"Hey! You didn't have to go do that, I was fine just doing my own thing while you go off and got your sex-capades on" he retorted.

Jiraiya sneakily looked around to make sure no one was listening and then moved in close to Naruto.

"You're not one of those…. that likes the '_PEE PEE'_… are you?" he asked wiggling his eyebrows as he was starting to doubt his student was straight.

**"WHAT THE HELL!"** Naruto bellowed in response getting some looks.

"Well?" Jiraiya responded, he had to make sure he wouldn't waste future money on the brat if he wasn't going to play ball, he'd rather spend it on himself.

"**NO!** **_I like women!_**" Naruto responded back more quietly this time.

"Well what was holding you back, you scared to put it in them? That part of their body doesn't bite. Well if it did you'd have much bigger problems" Jiraiya-sensei said back sage-like.

"No! I just… well I was just trying to hold out for… her" he lamented.

"Ah…. you'd be old and a virgin before that ever happened brat" he said back.

"Hey!" Naruto snapped back.

"Listen brat, you could die tomorrow for all we know, better to get your own desires taken care of than try to hold it for someone who doesn't even know what they want. Besides she'd probably spread them in a heartbeat for that nukenin teammate of yours…" he said back trying to talk some sense into Naruto.

Any gusto Naruto held instantly deflated.

"You're… you're probably right" Naruto said dejectedly as he knew Jiraiya was right. Naruto's ignorance was slowly being replaced with real world realizations as Jiraiya took him on his travels and over time talked some sense into him.

"You can hold out for her, but if I were you, I'd seize the moment. Don't wait on some girl to 'shit or get off the pot'" he said.

Naruto knew he was right, it wasn't fair to him and it was true that trying to wait was frustrating to him and clouding his thoughts.

He looked back at Jiraiya-sensei and stood back up and went back to his room with the woman still there and closed the door.

_'Whew… I thought you were going to be a pee pee fanatic there for a second'_ Jiraiya thought while being relieved, money not wasted after all.

And that was the night Naruto lost his virginity and was introduced to the world that was Icha Icha and finally understood why his sensei was always so caught up in the activities.

_End Flashback…_

_'I miss you, you old perv'_ Naruto thought back to images of Jiraiya-sensei.

_'No…. SUPER PERVERT'_ he thought as he laughed to himself thinking highly of his late sensei.

_Meanwhile, in another part of the village at a Dango restaurant…_

Ino sat enjoying some of her dango sticks thinking back to what happened earlier.

"Hey piggy" said the voice of now present Sakura.

_'Uh oh'_ Ino thought as she looked at her rival who sat down at the table with her.

"Hey forehead, what you doing out this late?" she asked.

"I was looking for you, I wanted to talk to you about something…" said Sakura.

"Oh? What's that?" as she sat trying to adjust her attire which was a little bit dirty from the tussle earlier with Naruto.

"Naruto was talking about submitting for the Ni-Yurei… and… I am going to do it with him…" she said with a worried look on her face.

"Wait… What! You guys are going to submit for that group! Why!" Ino said as she instantly realized the implications.

"Haven't you heard, those teams are usually male-male or female-female… They put the ones that are male-female through the meat grinder… I don't think you two should do it!" Ino said worriedly.

"Why would they do things any differently for the opposite sex pairings?" Sakura asked.

"Because…. the nature of the missions, they say that there have been problems with relationships in those kinds of situations… relationships that could be problematic with village loyalties… They need to make sure those types of pairings can be trusted…" Ino responded.

"Ibiki-sensei was telling me that there hasn't been a pair to pass the tests since they enacted the new rules due to the pervious problems they've had with defecting pairs" Ino divulged.

_'What kind of testing could they do that's so difficult?'_ Sakura thought worriedly.

"I wouldn't go thru with that if I were you guys based on some of the things I've heard from the intelligence group reports that have to pick up the mental pieces of the failed candidates" Ino said.

"And what kind of things have you heard?" Sakura asked.

"I'm sorry, I can't say, that info is top secret" Ino said sadly.

"Ah… thanks for the info Ino" Sakura said as she was appreciative of what Ino could let her know.

Sakura turned her attention to Ino's attire as she noted that Ino's clothes were actually dirty and somewhat beat up looking which was completely out of place for her.

"What's the deal piggy, have you been rolling around in the dirt?" Sakura giggled.

Ino's tick mark that appeared only served to humor Sakura even more as she knew she hit a button.

"N-No! I kind of got my wish tonight while I was out picking lilies…" Ino said somewhat lamely thinking of the thought of her actually having dirty clothes and Sakura capitalizing on it. She'd have to make her pay for that one.

"Wish? What was your wish? To become a hobo?" Sakura said no really laughing.

"N-No dangit! I wished for Kami to drop a guy in my life and well… I got it answered like… literally" Ino said back as she now thought back to Naruto and started to smile.

"Wait… what? Who was this guy? Did he drop from the sky?" Sakura asked amused still.

_'Time to drop the bomb on her'_ Ino thought as she got some satisfaction thinking about it.

"It was your teammate, and yes he literally dropped, errr at least appeared next to me taking me out in a ball of our tangled bodies" she said as she started to smile even larger imaging how they must have looked when that happened.

Sakura went from being happy and laughing to starting to feel the rage boiling as alarm bells started to sound off in her mind and she actually started to process what Ino just said.

_'Her and Naruto were together tonight? And they were in a tangle of bodies! __**SHANNARO!**__'_ she thought.

This time it was Sakura turn to wear the tick mark on her forehead which Ino noted.

**"EXPLAIN!"** Sakura almost shouted.

"I guess he was practicing some jutsu was what he kinda explained to me and ended up falling off the face of the Hokage mountain and used me to stop his fall…" Ino said as even she was not quite sure how the whole situation even occurred to begin with.

**'THAT BAKA, I'M GOING TO SO POUND HIM INTO NEXT WEEK!'** was all Sakura could think of while she also noted that pound had a double meaning and started to get some perverted thoughts that threatened to derail her current line of thought which was being upset with Ino.

"And…?" Sakura asked.

"And…what?" Ino replied trying to avoid the question which Sakura immediately picked up on.

_'She's hiding something, something happened between them...'_ Sakura thought as the feeling of rage starting to be replaced with slight pangs of pain in her heart.

"Did you come on to him?" Sakura prodded as she knew Ino and had to know what happened.

"Maybe…" Ino answered truthfully.

"Did… did you two…." Sakura asked as she started to lose the willpower to completely finish the question as she was not sure if she wanted to know the answer.

_'Kami, I hope I haven't already lost Naruto to her of all things. How could she be with him after what me and Naruto talked about earlier. I'm trying to let him know of my feelings in ways hopefully he can see…'_ she thought as she started to feel somewhat jealous and upset.

"N-No, he kinda laughed off my advances" Ino lied as she didn't want to hurt her friend and rival and decided to cover a little for Naruto.

_'She's actually getting upset about me being possibly with Naruto, I thought she didn't like him with all the time she blew him off'_ Ino thought.

"What's the big deal forehead, I thought you weren't interested in Naruto with all the times you blew him off as he was practically worshipping the ground you walked on" she asked a little edgy as she was genuinely upset that Sakura got all those chances with Naruto to begin with.

"I-I" Sakura stammered.

"You're late to the party Sakura, you had your chances with him and now it's someone else's turn" Ino quipped.

_'What the….'_ Sakura thought as the jealously really started to manifest in her as she knew Ino was right. She had blown a lot of chances with Naruto. And now he was openly not committing to her and avoiding her questions about them when she asked.

_'I'm… I'm losing him. And to Ino-pig no less.'_ she thought as her heart really began to hurt and she scrunched up her hands into her ninja blouse.

"I-I'm not going to lose to you so easily Ino" Sakura responded back finally with a determination that manifested within herself as she thought back to her vow to Naruto earlier that day.

"Hmmm well unlike you, I know what I want" Ino shot back with a smirk.

_'It's all happening again with Ino, this time we are fighting over…. Naruto'_ thought Sakura as she remembered back to her academy days.

"He's the village's hero forehead, he has a lot of people interested in him, and I am one of them" Ino said letting Sakura know of the claim she was looking to stake on him.

Sakura if anything now started to think back to what Ino had said about the Ni-Yurei and the opposite sex pairs that seemed to have develop relationships and become village liabilities. She thought of her and Naruto being like that.

_'I'd do anything for him, if us being in that group will give me the chance to grow truly close to him, then I will do it'_ Sakura thought determined. It took some competition staring Sakura in the face to give her more determination.

"I know Ino… I've squandered a lot of my chances with him and I've been incredibly stupid to do that. Seeing him now and how amazing he has become just stares me back in the face letting me know how truly stupid I've been. He's worthy of someone that will give him attention…. Even Hinata beat us both to that with him, but I'm not going to lose him to either of you…" Sakura said looking back at Ino with a curious expression on her face. One of confusion, yet determination.

_'Hinata made some advances on Naruto, when did that happen?'_ Ino thought with the answer Sakura gave her.

"Whatever you say forehead, but I'm pretty confident I'm a step ahead of you" as she thought about what Naruto did to her earlier as the thoughts started to get her turned on again. And she had also learned of a way to turn Naruto on to a point that it was extremely hard for him to think rationally. She'd have to use that against him again in the future - she knew a secret about him.

_'What does she mean by that…'_ Sakura pondered as she noticed Ino's face get somewhat flustered.

"I'll see you around piggy" Sakura said as she got up to leave the restaurant.

"Night forehead" Ino shot back as she resumed enjoying her dango with things to think about.

As Sakura walked back home she neared Ichiraku Ramen and peered in only to see the attention of her thoughts sitting in his designated spot at the table.

She glanced around looking at the patrons of which she noticed some of the women giggling as they would sneak glances at Naruto here and there.

She walked in over to where Naruto was sitting as he looked lost in his thoughts while he played with the remaining items in his bowl of ramen.

"Hey there Naruto" she said as she sat down next to him.

"Ah hey Sakura, what brings you here tonight?" Naruto asked as he looked over to her as she sat down next to him.

"I was just out walking around thinking about things. I ran into Ino earlier…" she answered as she looked at him and his attire. It also looked like he had rolled around in the dirt.

What really caught her attention was a single lily that was left in his hair near the back. She reached out and picked it off his head.

_'Uh…Oh…'_ Naruto thought as he looked at the lily Sakura removed from his hair.

"What's she up to?" he asked.

"She was gloating about some little run in she had with you…" Sakura answered as she looked at him placed the lone lily on the table in front of him.

Naruto just looked down at the lily thinking back to what happened between him and Ino. Having the desire of a woman on him was something he really enjoyed. It was something that he valued higher than just recognition due to what it meant to him.

Growing up with no attention or affection, he really valued it and would return it in earnest to those that provided it to him - Ino was certainly no exception - however she really got to see parts of him uninhibited with what happened earlier.

"Ah yea…that. I kind of ran her over while I was practicing a jutsu" he answered back as Sakura looked at the features on his face as she could see he was deep in thought as he looked at the flower.

"So are you and her an item or something?" she asked.

"No, it was a coincidence she was even there. There's been a nature based jutsu I have been working on" he divulged to her as he turned his attention to her and looked her straight in her emerald eyes.

He picked up the lily off the table and placed it in her pink hair near her ear.

"It goes great with your hair Sakura" he said as he placed it.

Sakura wanted to be mad at him for his little meet up with Ino but this completely derailed her feelings there when he did that to her.

"Th-thanks" she said as she felt the flower in her hair.

Naruto knew what he was doing; he was taming his 'red devil' teammate as he could see the feelings in her face of what she was thinking as she thought about him and Ino.

"What does this nature jutsu do?" Sakura asked as she went back to focusing on him.

"I can control the space my body takes up and manipulate it to be wherever I want within my range as well as make parts of my body intangible like when I move myself elsewhere. It's like a way of transportation and manipulation without having to be a shunshin or seals based like my da-… like the 4th used to do with his Hirashin no Jutsu" he replied.

"I'm trying to find ways to make it offensive capable and hoping to make it into a fighting style" he said.

"Wow, did you learn about that in your training back at Mount Myoboku?" Sakura asked.

"No, there's nothing on this and other ideas I have. It's like this is something new that I discovered by accident." he responded.

Here was the 'dead last' sitting next to her explaining how he was working on techniques that pushed the limits of nature chakra manipulation to a new level. She beamed with pride for him, she was always witness to his feats of greatness and this was another that was blossoming within him.

"Sakura, if we are going to be in a two man team together, I want to make sure I can help you continue to expand your abilities. You are the strongest kunoichi I know Sakura." he stated as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"And I'll need your help to get stronger and be able to protect the village and its people. I want to do this with you… together… and I need you" Naruto admitted to her as he looked into her emerald eyes.

Sakura fought back tears as she listened to Naruto and looked deeply into his eyes seeing his complete sincerity. This is the Naruto she loves so much, he always recognizes her strength and relies on her. She used to feel that she was so useless to Naruto, and now she knew she was so integrally needed to him.

She put her arm around him and pulled him in for a Sakura bone crunching hug.

"Thank you Naruto, and you can always trust in me that I will always be there of you" as she squeezed into him with both arms in a strong hug and a few tears slipped out of her eyes onto his clothes.

"You baka, you always know the perfect things to say to me…" she looked at him lovingly wiping the tears from her eyes.

"I'm just so blessed to be able to have you in my life Sakura" he responded as he looked at her with true admiration. And with that the water works came out again in full force this time.

Aya-chan brought Sakura a bowl of ramen to which Sakura thanked her for and gladly accepted.

"Don't worry Sakura-chan, I'll bill it to his broke ass as you know how insistent he is on buying you ramen" Aya-chan joked into her ear playfully.

All Sakura could do was laugh out loud now, tears and all.

The teammates ate and continued to talk as the hustle and bustle of the night continued.


	6. Chapter 6 - The Submission

It was a beautiful morning as the birds chirped and fluttered about next to the temporary Hokage building. It was early in the morning as the village was waking up to start a new day.

A lone figure clad in pink ninja attire stood in front of the doors to the building.

_'I hope I am making the right choice in doing this'_ thought Sakura as she admitted to herself she was a little bit scared.

She rubbed her hands together as a way to fight her nerves as she was definitely thinking about Naruto and the Ni-Yurei and what she was about to do with submitting her intent to volunteer for the group with Naruto.

**_'Poof'_** sounded next to Sakura causing her to look over to her right.

"Good morning Sakura" greeted her as Naruto placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently.

"Thanks for doing this with me Sakura" he stated as he looked at her, noticing her subdued demeanor and nervousness with the way she was holding her hands.

He held out an open hand clad in black ninja gloves with metal over his fingers and hand on the opposite side.

Sakura gladly took it; Naruto was always her pillar of strength and security.

"We're doing this together" she stated looking him back in the eyes appreciative of his gesture.

Naruto opened the door and escorted her in letting go of her hand to walk side-by-side with her as they made their way up the stairs letting Shizune know of them coming to visit the Hokage.

Shizune promptly rushed on ahead to let Tsunade know as the pair paused before the great doors Shizune went in to the Hokage's office.

Naruto looked over to his right noticing Shimura Danzo standing off to the side look over to them.

This caught Sakura's attention causing her also to look over and noticed him.

Naruto glossed over his heavily bandaged right eye and what looked like his left eye being closed. Danzo-san set Naruto's nerves on edge as the way he always held himself suggested that he was a dark type of personality. Naruto never trusted people like that who gave off those types of vibes and Danzo-san screamed them practically to him.

_Flashback…_

"I don't trust him" stated Jiraiya-sensei as he looked thru a telescope while Naruto crouched next to him behind a wall with an opening overlooking a valley down below.

"Who? Danzo-san?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, my informants whisper of rumors concerning him. It appears that he has his own agendas concerning the village." the toad sage answered back closing his telescope and standing back up with Naruto following him.

"Don't ever trust that man. Whatever his interests are, they are not in the best interest of Kohona" was all his sensei said as he proceeded to walk off causing Naruto to look back down in the valley wondering what would cause his sensei to say that.

_End Flashback…_

"Good morning Danzo-san" Naruto stated slightly bowing.

"Good morning Uzumaki-san and Haruno-san" he bowed back slightly acknowledging them as he adjusted his bandages on his face.

He then turned and proceeded to walk away down the hall.

"What's Danzo-san doing here?" Sakura asked to Naruto.

"I have no ide-"Naruto was saying as he was then interrupted by Shizune poking her head out from the Hokage office.

"Tsunade-sama will see you now Naruto and Sakura" she stated as she then emerged from the door and left the two to enter.

The pair walked in and stood before Tsunade's desk as the stood facing away from them looking out the window.

"I hope I am wrong in thinking of the reason as to why you two are here this morning" she stated as she didn't look back at them with a more serious tone in her voice.

Naruto recognized that Tsunade was edge by the way she stood.

"Were here to submit our intent to volunteer for the Ni-Yurei" was all Naruto stated in a serious voice as Sakura looked over to him noting the seriousness in his voice.

_'It's rare for him and Tsunade-shishou to be this serious with each other'_ Sakura thought.

Both of them could see Tsunade flinch when they stated that out loud.

"Accepted" was a familiar voice the pair heard causing them to look back at the entrance to the Hokage's office.

There stood Danzo-san looking at the pair.

"I'm sorry Danzo-san, accepted… for what?" Naruto asked before Sakura could.

"Your intent to volunteer for the Ni-Yurei; I am the leader of that group, and you will report to me directly if you pass the tests… and take the oath" he stated seriously and with the authority he was known for.

"You're the leader of the Ni-Yurei?" Naruto asked dumbfounded.

_'But the Ni-Yurei is a group that is supposed to represent the arm of the Hokage directly? Why would Danzo-san be leading that group'_ Naruto thought as he looked over seeing Sakura tense up with himself going on edge as warning bells started sounding off in his mind.

"Yes, I have complete authority over the group. We represent the Hokage, but we operate independently and completely under my jurisdiction as decreed by the Fire Daimyo" he replied back.

_'What the…'_ Naruto thought as he looked back over to Tsunade.

"We wouldn't be working directly underneath you Tsunade-chan" Naruto asked.

Tsunade just looked down and then turned around slowly looking over the pair.

"Danzo-san is right, no you would not, you will report to him at all times" she answered back finally.

"Haruno-san, Naruto-san, you will both need to go through tests to verify your loyalty to Kohona" Danzo-san said as he walked in closer.

"What kind of tests?" Sakura asked causing Danzo-san to look at her.

He motioned and called out…

"Arata, Haru" he called out causing two shinobi to shunshin in front of him.

Naruto and Sakura just looked over the pair that arrived wondering what this was all about.

"Sakura, you will be required to be with these men and verify your capabilities in seduction and information gathering out of male targets" as the two men looked over at Sakura in a lecherous manner upon hearing this.

This immediately caused Sakura to step back and grab onto Naruto's arm tightly.

"She looks like she's a virgin based on her reaction Haru, this will be a fun assignment to break her in" stated Arata glancing as the ninja glanced over to Haru.

"Indeed" was all Haru said in response as he looked downward towards Sakura's blouse causing Sakura to try to reach down and ensure her blouse was riding as low as possible.

"What the hell is the meaning of this" Naruto stated angrily.

"We need the capability on our team, we lost that when the last mixed pair was killed" Danzo stated back simply.

"Why them!" Naruto stated sharply looking directly at Danzo as he pointed to the two men.

"Because, we need to make sure she can do it, she's of no use to me otherwise" he stated back unwaveringly.

Sakura felt like she was about to throw up at what she was hearing.

_'Is this all that I would be used for in the Ni-Yurei, a sex toy to gather information'_ she thought as she felt very upset and scared as she involuntarily started to grab onto Naruto's arm harder than intended with her chakra enhance strength as tears threatened to fall.

Naruto just winced in pain but wouldn't dare say anything; Sakura needed him in this moment right now.

"She hasn't had the kunoichi training just yet in that subject" stated Tsunade from behind the pair.

"She'll learn or fail" Danzo-san responded back simply.

"W-Wait, is there any other way that can be done" asked Sakura as she was on the verge of tears.

_'Please Kami, I don't want to have to do that, I'm not ready for this!'_ she screamed in her mind.

"Danzo-san, you owe me…" stated Tsunade with a Hokage's authority causing Naruto and Sakura to look between her and Danzo-san.

"If I allow that, Tsunade-sama, we are even…. agreed?" Danzo-san looked back at Tsunade as he stated it.

"…Agreed" she replied back after hesitating as she looked at Sakura sadly.

"Very well, Haruno-san, you can pick whom you do your test with, but if you fail to do it within two weeks, it will be with these two" as he made a motion causing the Ataru and Haru to shunshin away.

That destroyed Sakura as she thought she may get excused from that type of testing.

"Can she at least pick someone she knows?" Naruto asked angrily as he had clenched fists as the sheer strength Sakura was crushing his arm with was upsetting him every second. It angered him that their decision was turning out like it was and this was his fault for putting Sakura in this kind of situation.

"She may" was all Danzo said as he turned around and walked out of the Hokage's office leaving the pair to their thoughts.

"I-I…I can't believe what I have to do for this…" Sakura stated as she started to cry as she released her hold on Naruto and brought a hand up to her face to cover her forehead as realization was striking her hard.

"I…. am sorry Sakura" was all Naruto could say as he put a hand on her shoulder as she shook with pain, rage, and sadness thinking about what she had to do.

"Can she back out of this Tsunade-sama" Naruto asked grabbing the attention of the Hokage. Only when he was begging her would he say 'sama'.

This caused Sakura to grab onto Naruto's arm again tightly.

"I'm afraid not, not without being permanently disqualified from consideration" she stated back solemnly as Naruto looked back to Sakura as she caught his attention when she grabbed onto his arm.

"N-No Naruto… I still want to be on this team with you" she said while crying.

"I can't have you do that with someone Sakura against your will, you deserve better than that" Naruto said back honestly as he grabbed her and held her tight which she gladly accepted burying her head into his chest.

"You both got yourselves into this, I tried to warn you" Tsunade just stated back as she sat back down.

"The real world is far more serious and requires you to do things you may not like to do. This is the way of the Ni-Yurei, you have to do the hardest things for this village. It doesn't matter what someone deserves or hope they deserve" Tsunade said in a low voice and slowly so they could clearly understand what she was saying.

"Naruto…" Sakura said grabbing Naruto's attention as he held her closely with a look of absolute anger on his face.

_'Is this why they have problems with relationships in opposite sex pairs… is this what happened to them? And is this what they did to causing the issues?'_ she thought to herself sadly.

"I'll do this… so long as this test is with you" she stated back slowly with tears in her eyes as she looked deeply into his eyes.

Naruto easily could see the sincerity in her words and it pained him deeply.

"B-but-" Naruto stated as Sakura interrupted him.

"I don't want to be raped by those men… please Naruto" she said back immediately thinking about what they would do to her as she clutched onto him tightly.

_'Fucking asshole'_ Naruto thought angrily of both himself and Danzo.

The guilt of the incredibly severe situation he has just squarely placed Sakura in pained him to levels he couldn't recall ever having felt. Power began to radiate from Naruto with a chakra cloak starting to envelope him and Sakura.

Sakura recognized what was happening. Naruto was so upset his Kyuubi chakra was seeping out. She could momentarily see into his mind with their closeness and feel is guilt of what he had just done to her, and how he hated himself so deeply because of it. It frightened her to feel that he felt so incredibly negatively about himself.

She then caught an image of Naruto taking out a kunai and slicing his own throat in anger at himself.

**_"NARUTO"_** she screamed at him as she wrapped her hands around his face forcing him to look at her.

_'She couldn't lose Naruto like that'_ was all she could think at that moment.

"Please Naruto, understand, I will do this with you and for you... I want to be here with you, right now. I want to be there with you till the end. I'm sorry I'm scared… but with you, we can get thru this." she said as he could also feel her sincerity of her words as he felt her emotions float into his mind as she said this to him.

He grabbed her tightly into a hug with a couple of tears escaping from his eyes that fell onto her face and then evaporated from the Kyuubi's chakra enveloping them.

"O-Ok-ay… Sakura…" he lamented while still in a rage.

_'How can I do this with her… that will be like raping her… she's not really getting a choice in this… she supposed to be like family to me, like a sister… how can I do that to her'_ he thought back darkly with hatred seeping from every fiber of his being.

Naruto dropped down to the floor on his knees as the chakra cloak evaporated and he was silently weeping while Sakura had dropped down with him and was enveloping him in a hug as his shoulders shook with his silent sobs.

_'He feels like he would be raping me. Kami.. what have we got ourselves into'_ was all she could think.

"I'm so sorry Sakura, I wish I could change this" he said back quietly to her.

"Shhh.. it's okay Naruto, at least I can pick with whom I do it with" she replied back sadly.

_'Although, does that mean that I still have to do that out in the field?'_ she thought back as she thought back to Danzo-san getting angry again now that Naruto was more subdued.

"You and me… remember that Naruto" was what she whispered to Naruto letting him know she was there for him. All he could do was grab on tightly to an arm that was over the top of his chest and continue to hold on to her.


	7. Chapter 7 - Resolving Awkwardness

_A week later after the Ni-Yurei submission…_

Sakura laid in bed on her side facing the wall, her eyes devoid of tears as she had none left to continue crying with.

_'I can't believe what I have to do to test my loyalty to the village'_ she thought grimly.

_'How could Kohona be like this?'_ was a question she really struggled with.

Sakura had heard of fellow Kunoichi sometimes engaging in sexual acts with targets to extract information, but those seemed to her to be willing Kunoichi, not forced into such a thing. Kohona was always known for it being a beacon of a civilized village and also having a great living arrangement for its ninja. Yet everything about this group felt so wrong to her as she had her eyes opened.

_'There is a part of Kohona that we had no clue about… and now we got ourselves into the underworld…'_ she thought as an image of Naruto was in her mind.

The carefree Naruto, and the always laughing Naruto. It seemed to her this being his first introduction to becoming a stronger level of ninja for Kohona was to give away a piece of his humanity; and herself sacrificing her body.

They were both becoming merely tools of Kohona, this was the world that existed behind the façade of the major villages. An underworld of subterfuge, and terrible acts to maintain power.

Sakura's eyes had shadows underneath them as she looked aimless at the wall observing the textures of it.

She thought of her mother and father and what they would think of what she would have to do for her own village.

_'If they knew what I had to do, would they still be proud of me being a kunoichi for Kohona?'_ she asked herself.

_'Naruto…'_

She realized that she hadn't left her room in a week.

_'I need to see him and see how he is doing…'_ she thought to herself as she got up and got into the shower.

As she was showering finally enjoying in the small relaxation provided by the warm water running over her bare body she ran her hand around normally as she would clean her body.

She then paused when her hand was above her pelvis as she realized what she would be doing to her body sooner than later, and what could happen out in the field.

The thoughts of having to have sex with strangers and men who were nowhere near as good of a person as Naruto upset her.

_'What will Naruto think of me?'_ she thought.

_'Would he still desire me? Especially if he has to watch over the situations as they happen to make sure he has my back?'_

The more she thought about potential situations, the worse it continued to get.

The thought of Naruto losing interest in her and desires for her due to what she has to do for this scared her.

Her chakra emitted from her hand as she could visualize her vaginal canal as thoughts of strangers releasing their sperm into her really bothered her and absolutely disgusted her.

She always took care of her body, and yet now, she was facing a situation where it was looking to be thoroughly used as a dumpster for resulting fluid of men's desires, and all for the village.

She felt the rage start to manifest in her, that her own village could do this to her.

_'I tried to warn you..'_ Tsunade's words echoed in her mind. Her own sensei knew of what could be and yet she would allow such things. This realization shocked Sakura to the core.

_'How could Tsunade-shishou let something like this exist in our system'_ she thought of it with disgust.

She tried to get the thoughts out of her head as they only served to make her current situation worse. She got out of the shower and got ready and left her house to head over to find Naruto.

_At Naruto's apartment…_

Naruto laid in bed, also with shadows under his eyes. But not from his sage mode, just from the mess that was his mind and the pains in his heart he was dealing with.

He held a picture of team 7 in his hand as he looked at it. He looked at the young visage of a carefree Sakura and a slightly annoyed Naruto and Sasuke while Kakashi-Sensei was his usual self smiling with an Icha Icha book in his hand.

He lightly ran his thumb over Sakura's image.

_'I can't believe what the village is making us do for this group'_ he struggled with in his mind.

Naruto has always held a great respect for his village, but this level of darkness existing in his own village was completely foreign to him.

He did already know of how cruel the villagers could be, but this was a true introduction into the real work that happened behind the scenes.

_'Have we been lied to all this time? Is this really what the best of the best end up doing at other villages?'_ he pondered as tried to dare to think of what other things they would have to do.

He placed the picture back on its pedestal softly and just looked thru a ray of light that was shining thru his mini-blinds in his window as he looked up at the ceiling.

_'Will Sakura hold this against me? Will she think of me differently?'_ he thought as there was no denying that things would probably change to some degree between them.

_'I don't want to lose Sakura's friendship, she's always been my strength'_ he thought sadly.

**_'KNOCK KNOCK'_** came softly from the door to his apartment.

He got up and opened the door to see the center of his thoughts standing before him.

"Sakura… please come in" he offered which she accepted as she looked at him and his current state noticing the similar signs of troubles on his face.

"Thanks Naruto" she replied as she went inside and walked over to his kitchen table and sat down.

"Would you like some tea?" he said to which she nodded and he went over and started putting together the needed items to make it.

"It looks like you couldn't sleep either huh?" he asked.

"Y-Yea, I've been thinking about so many things this last week, I'm still very nervous… and… scared" she replied.

"Me too Sakura" he said as she looked up into his eyes not expecting that answer.

"What are you scared of Naruto?" she asked, if anything to her it would seem Naruto would probably at least like the act of what they would have to do.

He looked at her closely seemingly deep in thought of his answer.

"I'm scared, of losing you" he replied.

"Losing me?" she said.

"Yes… I… I don't want things to change between us. You're such a precious person to me… I'm afraid having to do that together would change us…" he admitted.

"Naruto…. What would you think of me if I had to do those types of things out in the field?" she asked not sure if she wanted to hear his answer.

"We'd have to find another way to get that information" he said as she noticed his demeanor change to one of anger.

"What do you mean?" she replied.

"This whole type of information gathering is stupid, if I have to torture the target to death to get information, I would rather do that and be damned with the consequences than have you have to do _'THAT'_" he responded back angrily as he thought of Danzo.

"I'm not going to let some stranger have his fucking way with you. There's got to be another way…" he said with a strong voice.

_'Another way?'_ she thought to herself about his reply.

"Hey…." she said looking at him as she was seeing signs that he was thinking of ways to get her out of that situation.

"If I can think of a way to get out of having to do that test with you in the first place I will, if I have to go and wring Danzo's damn neck then I will" he said sharply ignoring her call for his attention.

"Naruto…" she said softly as she appreciated that he was standing up for her as she then caught his attention as he turned it back to her.

"I don't think I'm going to be getting out of doing that test at least. If we have to find a way later, then let's work on that. But we'll have to do… _'that'_" she responded.

"Would you… hold it against me?" he asked in a low voice with his eyes looking down at the table in a subdued manner.

"Absolutely not!" she responded quickly in a raised voice.

"I know you're doing it for me Naruto, not that Danzo bastard" she offered why she thought he was doing it.

_'I know you wouldn't try to do something to hurt me Naruto'_ she thought to herself.

"Tell me something Naruto…" she stated.

"Have you ever had sex before?" she asked as she looked at him as she could see his eyes come back up to meet hers as she finished her question to him.

"….Yes" he responded after a long pause.

She felt a pang hit her heart with that answer.

_'When did you do that? I wasn't aware of you having a relationship in the… village'_ she thought as her eyes got bigger in realization.

"Was it…. during your training with Jiraiya-sama" she asked in a low voice, her sadness kind of coming thru in her tone.

"…Yea… he used to take me with him to brothels when we traveled. He was trying to cheer me up" he lamented as he opened up honestly with Sakura about 'that'.

_'Not only have I not been with Naruto, but apparently a bunch of hookers have'_ she thought bitterly thinking back to what those women did to him.

"Cheer you up?" she asked unsure what he meant by that.

"I was dealing with a lot of emotions then Sakura… And you know how you were about Sasuke. At the time I wanted to be with you, but your thoughts were with…'him'" he responded.

'At the time….' she locked on those words while registering the past about her feelings for Sasuke.

"I'm sorry Naruto for being like that back then… Sasuke turned into a terrible person. He deserted us and for what?" she responded sharply as she was upset with herself for being like that back then.

"I…I understand him better now Sakura. I finally have a better understanding of why he was so upset and why he did what he did. I feel though that he should of reached out for us to help him, rather than deserting us to seek power on his own" he replied with a sense of wisdom that Sakura was not used to hearing Naruto speak with even though he did from time-to-time more recently.

"It took me having to lose my sensei to understand him better" he said.

Images of Naruto and his Ero-senin popped up into Sakura's mind as she thought fondly of their relationship despite the perverts tendencies.

"But I believe in us Sakura, we have strength as we have each other. I think Sasuke took the wrong path. I still want to save him Sakura…" he said to her seriously.

She couldn't believe how Naruto had not given up on Sasuke yet despite how her own feelings for him had taken a complete 180. But this was an attribute of Naruto's that was completely unique to him. His unnerving ability to not give up on those he cared about, no matter what they did.

"But yes, Sakura, doing 'that' wouldn't be my first time" he said returning back to the original subject as he got up to prepare her cup of tea.

"Oh…" was all she could say, not sure how to feel about the fact that Naruto had done sexual things with women already. While she was somewhat confused, she did feel clearly jealous about those other women.

_'How could Naruto treat himself like that just giving himself to strangers?'_ she thought.

"Where those women just pieces of meat to you Naruto?" she asked genuinely curious of his views on women now that she knew more about that particular topic with him.

**_"No!"_** he responded a bit harsher than anticipated as he handed Sakura her tea.

"Sakura…. at the time those women spent time with me, and made me feel like I was desired. I could have been killed out in the field at any point. To me, they were my chance to be with a woman and be intimate. They were not pieces of meat. They could have been the only nice experience I had before my time came to an end before I knew it" he replied.

_'I-I didn't realize Naruto thought of them like that – and that person could have been that last person he was with that he'd take that memory to the grave…'_ she thought as she realized she should of known that Naruto would probably really care for somebody that did something like that with him. If people who gave him just general acknowledgement with him were held so high. What about a woman that pleasured him?

"It's not like there was someone around at the time that was from the village that I could be like that with. I have needs Sakura, just like any normal person. And besides to Ero-sensei's stupid point it really did help to clear my mind" he added.

"O-oh…" was all she could say as she took in the last bit of information.

_'Clear his mind… Like improve his performance on missions?'_ as she thought back to her training with Tsunade-shishou about alleviating sexual distractions while being on important missions to increase the chances of mission success and the content from those training sessions.

"Did you have an idea… when you want to do it?" she asked thinking about to what she needed to do.

"Me? No Sakura. I'm waiting for you to feel ready… not me… I don't want to force this on you anymore than it already is" he responded as he watched her drink a bit of her tea.

_'That and maybe I could find a way to get us out of doing that'_ he thought.

"T-Thanks Naruto" she said back with a small smile. There he was again, always trying to do things for her and help her.

"Anyhow I've had it up to about here talking about this after I spent the last week losing sleep over it, do you want to go train to help clear our minds?" he asked as he held his hand high above his head in a gesture for her. While she also thought about the _'clear our minds'_ part and the other meaning it meant to him.

"Yea! I'd like that" Sakura said more excited, as she hadn't trained with Naruto in a while and it would be great to get this air of awkwardness away from them.

_At training grounds #3…_

Naruto and Sakura faced off against each other with both of them panting slightly as they were covered in sweat from their battles with each other.

Naruto was in his sage mode as his clothes looked somewhat tattered thanks to the techniques of Sakura's extremely fine chakra control to charge her hits with her chakra. Even to the sage, over time they were doing damage. A true testament to her strength.

Sakura likewise looked petty beat up as it was obvious that Naruto was getting in a lot of attacks.

Sakura dashed into Naruto's guard kicking him on his side as he met her leg with an arm of his to block the blow causing Sakura to use the block to move away from Naruto.

During this maneuver Sakura reached down grabbing a fistful of dirt and threw it into Naruto's unshielded sage eyes.

_'SHIT! I can't see'_ he thought as he grabbed his eyes in pain due to the dirt covering them causing the opening Sakura was looking for. At times she felt a couple steps ahead of him and continued to work on that in their spars.

**_"SHANNARO"_** he heard coming from his opposite side of where Sakura originally was as he realized she must have shunshin'ed to throw him off.

_'She needs a little work on not giving herself away, let her blows do that instead after they hit'_ he thought.

**_'CRACK'_** was what he heard when Sakura planted a solid fist above his heart on his chest launching him backwards due to the force of the blow.

As Naruto tumbled blinded he instead instinctually fell back to relying on his mind's eye where he could see the form of Sakura approaching with her hands still glowing brighter along with her feet as she was using chakra to move in fast for another massive blow.

**_'THWACK'_** He slammed up against a tree stopping his momentum of his body tumbling backwards as he sat down as if he was just sitting at the base.

With his nature capabilities he could see Sakura's chakra enhanced fist coming in to hit him.

_'I have to try to let her pass thru me'_ he thought of his other capabilities aside from his special control.

He could feel his body in the area she was about to hit turn into that state where it felt like he had no volume or weight and he watched in his mind's eye as her hand indeed did pass thru him and right into the tree exploding it into splinters.

_'What the!'_ she thought at what just happened as she looked at her first disappear into Naruto's body as she thought she actually stabbed thru him.

_'Gotcha'_ he thought as he looked at her bent over form with her hand still passing into him as she wore a startled expression on her face.

Sakura felt the familiar touch of a tag on her neck as she looked to see Naruto's arm extended and she heard a hiss in her ear.

_'An exploding tag, SHIT!'_ she panicked as she tore off the tag and dropped it in front of Naruto as she flipped off to the side to avoid the impending explosion.

_'OHHH SHIT'_ he thought as he wasn't expecting Sakura to do that, he was expecting her to throw the exploding tag away in another direction and not just drop it right between his legs.

Sakura saw Naruto jump up from his position as she saw blood seeping down from his head due to her previous attack. It took her a very long time of constant hitting, but her hits were actually starting to really damage the sage.

**_"NARUTO!"_** she yelled as she too realized what she did and that he wasn't anticipating that.

**_'BOOOOM'_** sounded as the explosion from the tag struck her ears as she could see the form of Naruto for an instant and then it disappear into the explosion as the fire consumed his body.

She ran over to the dust cloud from the explosion looking on concerned.

She could see as the smoke drifted and dissipated the form of Naruto reappear and could hear his coughing as he had his hands raised in front of him as she continued to run to him ready to try to heal him with her hands already focusing medical chakra.

_'Crap am I okay?'_ he thought to himself as he looked at his body expecting to be missing something and feeling blinding pain but of which none of it came.

What he could feel was his body in that weightless and volume less state.

He then remembered letting nature pull him when that happened as he thought about his whole body going intangible in the instant before the explosion. It appeared that indeed had happened.

He looked up to see Sakura running over to him screaming his name.

She kept running and then she ran right thru him as he turned around to see her trip and face plant and go skidding when she had passed right thru him.

_'What the…'_ he thought as he realized he was still in that intangible state.

**_'SHANNARO'_** was all Sakura could think of as her face was embedded in the dirt that she had just so gracefully face planted in and skidded to a stop face down. The green glow of her hands with focused medical jutsu dissipated.

She could smell the dirt in her nose and at first she heard complete silence.

And then that familiar laugh… A real laugh of his…. At her expense.

Naruto couldn't believe the view in front of him as Sakura laid forward face down in the dirt with a trail following her and her rear end in plain sight as her blouse had been kicked up over her back during the fall.

He couldn't help it and started to die laughing as the whole sight was just completely hilarious to him. Sakura looked completely un-lady like in that particular moment.

And his eyes widened as an idea struck him as he dashed forward still laughing.

**"N-A-R-U-T-O"** came the muffled voice of Sakura through the dirt as she grabbed handfuls of it and heard his laughter coming toward her exposed state rapidly.

**_'SMACK!'_** sounded as a loud slap echoed and Sakura right buttock jiggled from the smack that Naruto palm had just laid down on it as birds were startled from the trees from the sound after they had just resettled from the explosion.

_ABSOLUTE SILENCE_ radiated from the area after Naruto's laughs had passed her body in its lying down state and kept curiously retreating.

_'Did he-'_ was all Sakura could think of incredulously as her brain struggled to process what just happened as pain radiated from the spot Naruto has just undeniable smacked and it burned.

**_'HE IS SO DEAD'_** she thought sinisterly as she began charging her the chakra in her body to maximum levels that her coils would allow.

**_'SSSSSSSSS'_** hissed from her pantie region suddenly.

**_'OH MY GOD, HE DIDN'T!'_** she absolutely screamed in her mind as her eyes widened in fear.

**_"AHHHHHHHH!"_** she got up screaming as she ran like the wind and in a moment actually had blew by a running Naruto as her panties still hissed as she desperately tried to locate the exploding tag but couldn't feel it.

_'W-What the hell was that!'_ Naruto thought as he stumbled and fell due to the object that passed by him at breakneck speed, this time his turn to face plant.

_"OOOF!"_ was the only sound Naruto made.

Instinct and fear took over for her frazzled thoughts as she could not locate the offending exploding tag.

**_"DAMMNIT!"_** she screamed completely panicked that she couldn't find what she was looking for as the hissing continued.

**_'RIP!'_** the sound of tearing cloth sounded as she ripped her panties off and threw them in front of her as she skidded to a halt and jumped back.

**_'BOOOOM'_** another explosion rocked the area that was previously Sakura panties as she flipped back.

_'SILENCE'_ yet again.

Naruto's back began to burn as he lied face down in the dirt.

_'I can feel the stare of death on me'_ he thought as he somewhat flinched under its immense pressure as he looked up.

Sakura saw with laser sharp vision, Naruto's sage eyes emerge from the dirt and look directly into her lone eye that was visible as she looked back in his direction over her shoulder with her hair blowing in the wind and sweat trickled down her face.

Naruto could see the bare ass of Sakura as the explosion had still left some wind currents in the area that was blowing up her blouse.

He instantly looked up into her lone eye to see her staring back at him with a look that promised death.

_'Gulp'_ sound emerged his body involuntarily gave in to the obvious promise staring back at him.

"N-Naruto-kun" said the recognizable voice of Hinata behind Naruto causing him to look behind him and up at Hinata.

_'Oh thank god, please help me'_ – he thought as he almost cried at the sight of Hinata, his savior.

He heard footsteps approach from Sakura's direction as he turned around to look at her and was met with only her knee high ninja boots which he followed up to bare legs, and then to her the sight of her second pair of lips with a shaved but obvious pink colored pubic region.

_'I'M DEAD'_ – he wept.

Naruto dropped his head back into the dirt giving in to his impending doom.

"I'm sorry Hinata-san, me and Naruto are training right now, what is it?" he could hear the voice of Sakura.

"I was wondering if I can see you sometime soon Naruto, to talk?" Hinata asked looking down at him and back over to Sakura's disheveled state although she couldn't see the fact that Sakura was now missing underwear.

"He can see you later if that's okay? We're almost done here" Sakura said as she answered for him.

"I-Is that okay Naruto-kun" Hinata asked looking down at him.

When no answer came momentarily Sakura kicked his head lightly with her right foot.

"Y-Yes! Hinata, come over to my place in a little while" he answered back in a mumbled state.

"O-Okay, thanks" Hinata answered back as she then bowed slightly to Sakura who returned the gesture as Sakura watched Hinata's receding form.

"I bet you thought that was real funny huh Naruto?" came the way too sweet voice of Sakura.

Naruto looked back up momentarily to see that Sakura was now crouching down in front of him looking down at him and her nether region was directly in his face. He could have sworn he saw glistening between her lips down there.

He just put his head back down and covered the front of his head by his eyes.

"So… **WHEN DO YOU WANT TO DIE NARUTO?**" asked the sweet voice of Sakura.

He couldn't let her have the last laugh, it just wasn't in his nature.

Naruto looked back up at her this time making sure to avoid looking at her crotch and looked her directly in the eyes.

"They were blue today-"was all he got out.

**_'SMACK!'_** sounded in the training grounds as a now unconscious Naruto laid face down.

"You _baka_…" she said in a very caring tone with a soft smile on her face as she caressed his head and picked up the sack of potatoes using her chakra enhanced strength and bounded off to her home with him her mind made up.


	8. Chapter 8 - Their Bonds Solidified

Naruto opened his eyes to be looking at the ceiling of what was undoubtedly Sakura's apartment as he would recognize her orange drapes anywhere.

It was an inside joke between them when she lost a bet to Naruto.

_Flashback…_

"Hey Naruto, do you think… Sai's gay?" she asked as she sided up right to him as they walked in the village.

Naruto just shot a single eye over to her with a small smile on his face and continued walking giving her a smug look as if the sage already knew.

"Oh come on Naruto, want to bet if either of us can prove it?" she said wiggling her eye brows at him.

This was a temptation too great for Naruto to let by, he always was ready for doing something fun.

Sakura saw his noise twitch as he thought about it, and she beamed a smile as she knew she got him.

"Name the stakes" he replied back.

"We can go on a date" she offered.

"Sweeter" he shot back as he looked at her coyly.

"Umm, I'll give you a nice massage" she said demurely and intentionally vaguely.

_'Wait, what?'_ he thought to himself as he pondered the possibilities of her meanings, but instead opted for something he knew she had that he wanted to see her finally put up.

"Sweeter" he said again.

"Ugh, fine, I'll put up those orange drapes, I swear Naruto, I wonder if you're gay sometimes" she lamented as she was always trying to avoid getting out of doing it. Naruto had gotten them for her as a gift for when she got a promotion at the hospital. He knew she didn't want to put them up because they would clash with the rest of her carefully organized apartment.

Naruto just laughed at her insinuation that he might be gay as they continued to walk.

He loved causing chaos in her life, she had the best reactions out of anybody as he laughed to himself as random memories of their antics crossed his mind.

"And you?" She asked.

He just looked at her closely as she smiled at him as they walked. He knew what she was thinking.

"Fine… I'll take you to Yasuda's" he replied which he knew she always wanted to go to but could never get on the list as it was a very prominent place.

"REALLY!" she said excitedly thinking of all the wonderful sushi she could have while rubbing elbows with Konoha's elite citizens.

"Yep" he quipped.

"It's a bet" she shouted as she smacked him on the back of his head causing himself to flip forward landing on his butt on the floor. It was her way of showing her affection for him with her self-proclaimed _'chakra enhanced love tap'_.

"Ughhh" he drawled out as he got up from the floor as Sakura checked his head to make sure she didn't knock any more screws loose.

"Let's go!" they shouted in unison as they ran off to find their target.

He was found finally after they gave up searching with just the two of them and relied on Naruto's mass shadow clone jutsu to spread out and eventually find him.

Of all the places they did not expect to find him in the bath house. It just didn't seem like Sai to be there without going with the guys, but there he was.

"You're up hot stuff" Naruto joked to Sakura.

Sakura came out emerging from the steam from the host springs to stand in front of Sai... She was wearing only her underwear that she had made sure to get wet to cause it to cling to her body.

Sai just looked up noticing her attire.

"What do you want Ugly" he asked in his usual un-emotional tone.

'TICK' a vein popped out in her head.

"And tit-less" he added?

'TICK…TICK' she had a few more veins for additional character appear.

**_"SHANNARO!"_** she bellowed ready to destroy him on the spot.

**_'POOF'_** she was instantly replaced with a Naruto clone. She looked around confused to see herself in front of Naruto. Apparently he had did a kawarimi with her.

"We need him alive for either one of us to win this bet" he said as he looked at her slightly amused.

"Shut up" she quipped as she crossed her arms over her chest.

The clone of Naruto stood before Sai who still hadn't caught sight of him due to the smoke.

**_"REVERSE HAREM NO JUTSU!"_** resounded from Naruto's clone **_'POOOOFFFF'_** causing Sai to be surrounded in the hot springs with a bunch of naked men of all various looks and body types all looking at him swooning.

Naruto and Sakura stood up to get a good look and leaned in as they looked at Sai's expressionless face.

They could start to see his eyebrow twitch and then the upper corner of his mouth.

Finally…

**_'SPRAYYYYYYY!'_** as he shot up with blood shooting out of his nose.

"AHAHAHA YOU LOSE!" Naruto shouted as he rounded on Sakura.

Sakura had wide eyes as she realized she would have to put up the drapes in her house.

"Nooo! Dangit!" she shouted.

She suddenly saw Naruto go straight as a board with his eyes wide and a puzzling look on his face.

Sai was standing behind him and from what Sakura could gather still naked from the hot springs.

"Sai" said the emotionless voice of Naruto causing Sai to raise an eye brow along with Sakura.

"That better be a kunai" was all Naruto said.

Something was touching him on the back of his leg around pelvic level to Sai and it didn't feel sharp on the end.

Sakura walked over and looked behind Naruto in between him and Sai.

She saw it.

She looked at Naruto expressionless at first, and Naruto looked straight at her.

Her eyebrow twitched…

she started to giggle….

**_"BAHAHAHAHA I MAY HAVE LOST, BUT YOU TWO JUST HAD A BONDING MOMENT!"_** she bellowed laughing at the top of her lungs.

Indeed, Sai must have miscalculated his Shunshin not accounting for his extra appendage sticking up in front due to Naruto's Reverse Harem No Jutsu.

Naruto spun around immediately, Sai was nowhere in sight.

**_"SAIIIIIIIIII!"_** was all he could shout as he took off running looking for him to destroy with Sakura in case laughing all the way.

_End Flashback…_

While Naruto had long lost a majority of his fascination with orange, he still kept hints of it in the seams of his outfits in patterns that looked similar to lines connecting his major Tenketsu points together. It gave him an instantly recognizable and exotic, yet powerful look as he otherwise was clad in dark ninja attire typically with his long cloak similar to what the 4th wore, only black in color.

The back of his jacket only had the Kanji for weapon in red on back.

"Hey" he heard come off to his left as he look over to see emerald eyes peering back at him with a soft look on Sakura's face.

"Hey" he responded back with a matching soft smile.

_'I'm not dead…whew!'_ he thought as he laughed to himself.

He glanced over his body as he laid on her couch as he got re-acclimated to his orientation and noticed his body was back to one hundred percent.

_'She loves picking up the pieces of her handy work'_ he thought fondly of her. Which was true, she loved that she could so thoroughly break Naruto yet put him back together.

"I took extra care of that bump on your head Naru-kun" she said lovingly at him as he felt up on his head the area that Sakura had managed to land a perfect and powerfully laden chakra punch onto which actually drew blood as he recalled their spar.

_'S-she even called me Naru-kun'_ he thought to himself surprised as his eyes widened slightly, Sakura had never used a nickname for him before, he knew it was her way of showing how she cared for him and he absolutely loved the feeling of it.

"That was amazing Sakura, your improving ridiculously well with how hard you can hit with your technique, even my Sage body buckles under the hits over time" he look at her earnestly in awe.

"T-Thanks" she wore a beaming smiling back at him, she loved how he always noticed her growth.

"Although you could probably go without ghosting yourself before you hit somebody" he quipped as he winked at her.

"I-I know, I gotta get out of that childish tendency, but I was only playing with you" she demurred.

"I'd hate to find out what it would be like with you not playing with me" he mused.

"You sure you wouldn't want to find out?" she had leaned in and had whispered in a husky voice which instantly caught his attention.

She brought her head up from his ear rubbing her face along his as she then gave him a soft kiss on the mouth.

She started to kiss him more deeply introducing her tongue into his mouth as she started to let her hands roam around his chest and in his hair as the feelings of butterflies started to explode in her stomach at the thoughts of what she was doing.

_'His lips are so soft, I..I thought they would be rough'_ she thought as she was enjoying the feeling of his mouth.

_'Ohhhh…..'_ was all Naruto could think as he was kissing Sakura back while fighting the mental thoughts of her being like a sister to him. More primal urges started to manifest and he could feel himself start to grow in his pants as Sakura was exploring his upper torso with her hands.

His thoughts of himself trying to see her as a sister where quickly blown out of the water with what Sakura was doing. This was not theory, or something in his mind, this was reality and it was a whole different animal compared to his idea that he could hold back these emotions for her.

He quickly understood that there was no way he could just try to avoid her intimately.

Sakura started to deeply kiss Naruto and moan into his mouth as she started to move her hand down to his pelvis and then her hand begin to ride up as Naruto's member had pushed up his pants into a tent as he was getting hard.

_'He's getting a hard on from what I am doing to him'_ she thought with a sense of happiness as she felt herself getting moist down below.

"Mmmmmughhhhhh" Naruto let out as Sakura's hand found his member and began to massage it through his pants as he broke away from Sakura's lips and grabbed onto her and involuntarily raised his hips.

"Naruto" he heard whispered by her as he opened his eyes to look into that emerald ocean.

"I want you right now… come into my bedroom with me" she said with a look of love on her face as she then moved to kiss him some more while she started to stand up and pulled Naruto up with her.

Naruto wouldn't lie that he was in bliss, this was something he had always wanted to do with the pinkette despite the situation.

_'It's like she doesn't even see this as just having to do a test'_ he thought vaguely before those thought were lost on his mind as his hands wrapped around her back and found their way to her still bare ass which he slowly grabbed carefully.

"Mmm yes Naruto, please grab them harder" Sakura whispered as she brought her pelvis up and lifted a leg up onto Naruto's waist.

_'Kami, I'm so wet, I….I want him so badly'_ she thought to herself.

Sakura had wrapped Naruto back into a deep kiss and reached down and guided his member in-between her pussy lips and was rubbing his member up and down them spreading her juices as she wanted to make sure her opening would allow him to glide right in once she could get his damn pants off.

Sakura moaned into Naruto's ear as she whispered to him how good he felt to her.

Sakura's body started to twitch in spots as she found the spot on her clitoris that she would often rub with her fingers when she was in the mood and with the realization that it was Naruto's member in his pants rubbing there she smiled to herself.

Sakura started increase the pace of her forcing Naruto's member to rub that spot in both up and down and side to side directions as she started to feel pressure building in her body as she started to moan deeper into Naruto's ear.

She couldn't hold back the feeling of pressure anymore and she grabbed deeply into the back of Naruto's head with her free hand deep in his hair as she stopped and grinded Naruto's member to her clitoris until she exploded deep in her body and let out a scream of pleasure.

_"NARUTOOO!"_ she screamed in his ear as she slowly stopped moving while shaking as her body twitched from an orgasm.

Naruto stood there grabbing onto her tightly as he felt the convulsions of her body.

_'She just came from rubbing my member on her'_ he thought.

To him the menstruations of Sakura felt great, but they weren't exactly like sex so it didn't really get him to an orgasm although he could feel the tip of his member oozing out his own juices as he was very turned on from what Sakura was doing to him.

"N-Naruto…" Sakura said softly to him as her breathing was somewhat hitched from her state.

"I am going into my room to change into something nice for you… I want to feel you in me, and I want to feel you pulsate deep into my pussy and fill it with your cum… I want to feel it in me…" she admitted to him in her husky voice as she still held onto Naruto shaking.

To Sakura, Naruto was the only real worthy man that she would want to do that with her. She knew how great of a person she was. And if she was going to ever have to face the possibility of strangers doing that to her, she wanted to make sure it was Naruto who was her first and that was able to make her into a 'complete' woman, not some stranger - but instead someone who always had her back and who she cared dearly about.

She adjusted herself off of Naruto as some of the liquid from her orgasm was running down her left inner thigh slowly which she swatted up with her fingers and rubbed back onto her pussy making it feel silky smooth under her fingers.

_'He's going to love that outfit'_ she thought to herself in bliss as she could see the desire in Naruto's eyes to what she had just said to him leaving him speechless. She basked in his obvious desire for her she was seeing on his face and in his eyes.

_'He wants me so badly'_ she thought as a tear almost threatened to collect in her eye as she was so happy at understanding that.

She walked into her room leaving Naruto there who was still trying to process what just happened.

Not a single shred of guilt could he feel at the moment he noticed, he just felt an unrelenting desire for Sakura. The girl… teen… and woman he has always been with in his ninja career and even when they were not on duty as they were best friends.

_'I-I can't feel bad for what just happened…. does that mean..'_ he thought vaguely as he was a mixture of insanely strong emotions at the moment.

Naruto thought about what he was about to do when he stepped into Sakura's room. The woman he loved so much for so long, he was finally going to be intimate with her. Something he only dreamed about, and lived up as fantasies with the escorts and prostitutes Ero-sensei used to get him.

This was his moment that he had been waiting for a very long time.

"Naru-kun… I'm waiting for you" he heard the husky voice of Sakura call out.

The hair on the back of his next stood on end as a new and very strong feeling washed over him. A feeling that was familiar but still alien to him, he couldn't place it. He gave in to his desires and proceeded to walk to Sakura's room as he heard her call out his name.

He stopped in the threshold of the door to her bedroom as he looked at her as she sat on her bed on the edge facing the entrance way.

She looked as radiant as he could ever picture her as she sat on the edge of her bed in her normal pink ninja attire look at him.

"Is that your special outfit for me?" he asked as he mused that it was still the same tattered outfit from training earlier.

"Yes, what's special Naruto, is that it is yours to take off…to unwrap… and to claim" she said in a very loving tone.

As he walked over to her slowly his heart was bursting with the feeling of love for her, not a desire for sex, but a true desire of love for her. The emotions he contained always locked deep within his heart were forcing their way out.

"There's only one thing I would like to know Naruto-kun" she asked as he sat down on the bed next to her facing her. She placed her hand on his cheek and pulled him in for a passionate kiss.

As they kissed passionately Sakura swiftly managed to take off Naruto's clothes with him only helping along when it came to his underwear and pants while they maintained contact with their lips, vying for dominance.

Deep and passionate kisses would be heard between them as Sakura moaned into Naruto's mouth and he in turn moaned back as his hands explored her body.

He was exploring the parts of her body he only ever dreamed of and tried to imagine how they felt, yet now she was very warm, and very soft underneath his touch.

He was completely nude as Sakura only had on a pair pf panties on, it seemed she wanted to give him one final last gift to unwrap. Her most treasured gift, and they were under a pair of orange panties with an intricate fox emblem embroidered in them.

Naruto had moved down to her pelvic region planting kisses and rubbing her body with his hands and paused when he got to the last gift. He was overtaken by the significance of what she was wearing. She had went out of her way at some point and had this made.

_'S-She did this just specially for me….'_ he thought as tears threatened to well up in his eyes as his lips threatened to twitch.

He closed his eyes tightly and just felt the pure love radiating out of his heart for this woman. The woman he has always loved.

He slowly pulled the garment down as it slowly started to reveal her shaved pink pubic hair which was short and it accentuated her pussy lips which were already glistening from her being very aroused.

He could smell her scent and Sakura watched as his eyes dilated as his face hovered over her mound as he lightly licked in between her lips causing her to gasp out and moan.

His whiskers on his cheeks grew dark and started to glow red, something she had never seen before as she could literally feel power radiating from him.

She was mesmerized by his cross shaped red sage eyes that she had only seldom witnessed before and here they were in their full glory. They didn't project an air of strength that they usually did, they projected an unfathomable sense of love.

She lightly pulled Naruto up to her as she spread apart her legs inviting him in as she whispered to him how much she wanted him right there in that moment. Whispers that he heard as if they were her yelling in a sense.

This was a completely different experience from Ino and as to why he had no idea. With Ino it was just primarily lust, but this was something completely different. He had never felt this for a woman during his travels with Jiraiya-sensei either.

They laid together face to face as Naruto softly kissed her but passionately all the same.

Sakura guided his member towards the bottom of her pussy where her entrance was and with her other free hand had lightly placed on his back down by his buttocks giving him the incentive to push into her.

Complete warmth that was very tight around his member screamed in his senses as Sakura let out a big moan as she shot her hands up to Naruto's head and was panting in his ear and begging him to go further.

Naruto slowly built up a rhythm with Sakura as she whispered into his ear to go fast. He could her the noises of her juices slurping around as he thrusted in and pulled out of her with her lips clamped around him tightly.

This was better than any other woman he had ever been with before, there was simply no comparison to him. The woman he loved was underneath him and giving herself completely to him.

As he hit her sensitive spots in he would feel her body convulse briefly due to the strong shocks of pleasure if gave her.

He could start to feel the pressure build up in his pelvic region as he knew he was getting close to coming as the waves of pleasure kept washing over his mind and he couldn't believe how truly good Sakura felt.

He started to get more vocal as he thrusted into Sakura.

"Ughhh God Sakura… I-I'm getting close to losing it" he offered.

"P-Please Naruto, let it go deep inside me, please…. I beg you" she moaned into his ear as she encouraged him on.

"N-Naruto… d-…..do you… love me" Sakura said in-between moans.

The pressure built up so strong he was trying to force his muscles to keep it in to prolonge the pleasure further but finally he succumbed to it.

With one final thrust to make sure he got as deep into her vaginal canal as possible he then could start to feel the pressure run up thru his member and release into her pussy. Convulsion after convulsion rocked his body as he could feel with each a large thread get shot into her. He started to feel warm around his member knowing that his own cum was filling up.

"K-Kami y-yes!" Sakura moaned loudly as she matched each of his pulses with her own moans as she felt her insides instantly heat up from his seed being released into her and coming in pulses.

He closed his eyes tightly and held on tightly to Sakura.

**_"I-I LOVE YOU SAKURA!"_** he shouted huskily as his pulses subsided leaving the tip of his member to feel only very sensitive while it was still in her very warm canal.

He labored in breathing as he held on tightly to her with his head in the pillow while his face was mashed against hers. His ears were ringing due to the intensity of his orgasm and he felt light headed as he breathed hard.

He finally calmed down enough and gain enough composure to raise his head to look into those deep oceans of emerald that he always loved looking into so much.

He opened his eyes as he laid a kiss on Sakura's mouth very lovingly.

_Lavender eyes, not emerald, stared back at him with tears in them..._


	9. Chapter 9 - Sin

He just gazed into those eyes as if something was amiss. He could feel her breath on his face as it was labored and it had the rhythm of sobbing to it.

Black hair rounded the face of Hinata as he had moved his head slightly back to see more of the face that the lavender eyes were attached to.

_'W-WHAT.'_ he thought puzzled. As he realized one of his free hands was on Hinata's bare chest with partitioned circular rings emanating from his hand.

It was the signature of a familiar jutsu to him. It was a jutsu his master had taught him in their travels to immobilize their targets. The rings were spread out from his hand across Hinata's torso.

All she could do was lay there.

**_"N-NO…. THIS CAN'T BE!"_** he shouted as he looked at her as her lavender eyes just looked at him tears falling from them.

**_"S-Sakura?"_** he said to her as she had no control to give back a response.

He gently caressed her face trying to see if this was a dream, he was just with Sakura. What is this?

**_'WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!'_** he screamed in his mind.

He lowered his jutsu a little bit to allow Hinata to speak as he wasn't sure what to do.

Guilt, paint, fury were welling in his chest.

**_"W-WHAT HAVE I DONE!?"_** he yelled out.

**_"P-lease…. N-Naruto…. Please… Stop"_** came the low and broken voice of Hinata.

**_"Please… let… me go…"_** she said sobbing.

Tears started flowing from his own eyes as they dropped onto her checks as she looked up at him.

**_"Oh my god Hinata…. I-I'm sorry… I-I don't know what I've done…"_** he offered while sobbing heavily.

This was the woman that had proclaimed her love to him while he was in battle with Pein and he was in a particular vulnerable spot. What had he just done to her?

He could feel his heart shattering in his chest. The thought of him hurting one of his precious people, and Hinata was even more so. Hinata always believed in Naruto.

She was the first person to believe in him.

**_"NO NO NO THIS CAN'T BE HAPPNING HINATA. PLEASE… PLEASE SAY I DIDN'T DO WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE HAPPENED HERE"_** he pleaded with her while crying.

She just started sobbing harder as she looked at him.

**_"N-Naruto, please… get out of me… and… let me go, I beg of you… please"_** Hinata pleaded as she cried.

He still realized his member was deep inside of her.

_'Oh my god…. I didn't'_ he thought.

He remember releasing inside Sakura, he was begging that didn't happen to Hinata.

He pulled out slowly as he felt himself slide out of her as she was very wet. He couldn't help but look at her slightly agape pussy as he pulled out which started to have cum appear and ooze out.

_'Oh god'_ was all he could think as he felt like throwing up.

_'What have I done…'_ echoed in his mind over and over as he watched Hinata slowly get up and put on her kimono which was somewhat torn and she started walking to entrance of his apartment while wincing. It was clear she was in pain from what we had just done to her body.

She stopped at the door, and looked back at Naruto as he had slouched down on the floor on his knees with a clear look of sadness, grief and fear on his face.

Hinata didn't know what had caused his complete one-eighty in emotions once he finished raping her, but it looked to her like he didn't even know what happened.

"H-Hinata" he spoke to her causing her to pause as she got ready to open the door as he crawled over to her.

"I-I don't know what happened Hinata… I-I'm so sorry…" was all he could say as she looked down at him.

**_'SMACK'_** resounded in the house as his face was forced away from her with her slap. This slap hurt more than anything else he had ever felt up to that moment as his head hung low looking away.

**_"I-I loved you… H-How could you do that to me Naruto"_** Hinata replied as she started to sob as she left.

_In Sakura's Apartment…_

"He left…" Said Sakura to no one in particular as she sat at her kitchen table wearing a black teddy with orange highlights.

_'D-Did I hurt his feeling earlier with taking the initiative like that…'_ Sakura thought to herself.

Sakura had debated on going after him, but she thought she might have hurt his feelings somehow and wanted to give him a little space considering what they were doing. She knew it was hard for Naruto the way he was acting. She knew he worried about that changing them.

_'Oh, Naruto, I'm so sorry if I hurt you'_ she thought to herself sadly as she herself realized that what they were doing might have been hard on him emotionally.

**_'KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK'_** sounded at her front door.

She put on a robe and opened the front door to see a messenger shinobi.

"Haruno-san, you're requested immediately by the Hokage in the hospital" was all he said as he saluted her and shunshin'ed away.

She went back into her room to get ready quickly as she wondered what this was about.

_In the hospital in an emergency room…_

Sakura entered the room to see Hinata laying in a bed asleep. She had clearly been crying and her kimono look disheveled. Tsunade was standing next to her bed reading a report on her vitals.

"Shishou what is it?" Sakura asked.

"You need to perform a rape test on her" said a voice she did not expect to hear from the opposite side of the room she hadn't even seen yet. It was Danzo's voice.

"Danzo-sama" she said carefully "You suspect she has been raped?" she said looking over to Hinata.

"That is for you to analyze, we want a blood test run as well to find out who it was" Danzo said.

A little later Sakura was examining Hinata's body. She spread her vaginal opening and could see a lot of fluid, she recognized it as semen from her time in the hospital and having to do these before. She got a swab and collected some of the fluid and put them in the vial which was given off for testing.

She looked over Hinata's body nothing that she didn't have any major marks that typically rape victims have.

"I don't see evidence of a struggle" she said out loud.

"I definitely think there was seminal fluid in her vagina however" she added.

Her hands started to glow green as she analyzed Hinata's body. She could see that her hymen was torn and that's why there was some blood earlier. She also could see plenty of semen as she could detect the chakra signatures the fluid gave off.

"I can tell you without the tests that she was raped from the looks of it. She has semen in her. I'll go ahead and destr-" she got out.

"No, do nothing" Danzo-sama ordered to which she looked at him sharply.

"Why should we leave it in there, we don't want Hinata getting pregnant" she said as she raised her voice while looking at Danzo.

"That is none of your concern Haruno-san, you have your orders" Danzo replied back.

Later, an attendant came in and handed Sakura back the results of the DNA testing.

She looked through it already noting the positive results for seminal fluid.

She also noticed there was a DNA match listed in the findings sections which is typically pretty rare in her experience.

_"Ninja registration #012607"_ she read aloud as the numbers didn't have immediate significance but that was all that was contained in the DNS match results.

"Danzo… did you have anything to do with this…" came unexpectedly from Tsunade as Sakura looked over to her in surprise.

"Do you know who that registration belongs to Shishou?" Sakura asked.

Tsunade turned to Sakura with a look Sakura hadn't ever seen her wear before and she couldn't place it.

"It's Naruto's registration number" Tsunade replied.

**_'CLANG'_** sounded out in the room as Sakura had dropped the report.

**_"W-WHAT!"_** she said back not believing her mentor.

"It's Naruto's, Sakura" Tsunade repeated as she looked back at Danzo like she was ready to get into battle.

"No, I did not Tsunade-sama and I would advise that you not make baseless accusations" he retorted.

"Go find him" Tsunade said looking back at Sakura.

That's all she needed to hear, Sakura rushed out of the hospital into the village, confused, hurt, and angry at Naruto all at the same time.

She deserved answers.

_At Naruto's Apartment…_

Sakura stepped into his apartment as the door was ajar. There was no sign of him as she looked around.

She noticed some remenants of drops on the floor leading outside where she crouched down to have a good look at them.

One she recognized instantly as blood and the other looked different. She picked some up with her finger instantly noticing the viscosity of it and the stickiness yet smoothness of it.

She briefly smelt it and immediately knew it was semen and that it was Naruto's. She thought back to the image of Hinata asleep on the bed with dried tears on her face.

_'What have you done Naruto!'_ she was practically screaming in her mind as her fists clenched in anger.

_'Why would you turn around and do that after what we were doing together. Why would you go to her!'_ she shouted in her mind.

Her eyes widened as she thought of the place he might be at when he likes to be alone. She walked out of his apartment wiping off the fluid on her blouse while looking up at the Hokage monument.

_On top of the Hokage Monument…_

She saw the silhouette of him as he sat down on the head of the 4th.

She could see his frame convulsing like crying and as she got closer she started to hear his whimpers.

_'Why is he like that?'_ she thought.

"What did you do to her" she asked out.

She caught sight of a lone cross shaped sage eye as he looked over his shoulder at her. She could see the despair in that lone eye. It looked at her like as if it didn't' exist, that she didn't exist.

Anger rocked her body.

**_"HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO HER NARUTO!"_** she shouted back at him as she walked closer to him.

**_"SHE….SHE LOVED YOU!"_** she added.

He felt her emotions aimed squarely at him. The disgust… the hatred.

"I… I don't know what happened…" he said quietly but loud enough for her to hear.

**_"YOU MEAN, YOU DON'T KNOW HOW YOU JUST RAPED SOMEONE?!"_** she shouted angrily with tears in her eyes as the incredulous thought of it all.

**_"I LOOKED UP TO YOU NARUTO! YOU WERE EVERYTHING TO ME! WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME TO GO DO THAT WITH HER!"_** she shouted, hurt despair, rage, jealousy, sickness all exploded out of her.

Every word stabbed his soul. Every word was right.

"Do… you… hate me Sakura?" he asked sobbing as he looked at her.

She looked him in the eye she could still see. That eye that was looking through her like it was dead.

**_"YOU MONSTER, HOW DARE YOU TO DO THAT TO HER!"_** she screamed.

He had heard enough, which was his final acknowledgement of what he had done was entirely evil and cruel. Everything that he had always stood for was destroyed in one act with one person. All his hard work for recognition and bonds… destroyed.

He closed his eyes as he held himself.

He stood up as Sakura watched him with her hands balled in fists shaking as she was crying.

He reached into his cloak, and pulled out something that he placed on the ground.

She could see the look of despair in his eyes as he sobbed. His red crossed sage eyes had no semblance of power, they only were radiating pain and anguish.

His sage mode dissolved as she saw his ocean blue eyes as his face contorted in sobs as he looked at her.

"I'm so sorry Sakura… I-I'm a monster… I don't deserve to…. l-live… I never meant to… hurt her…or you…" he wept with tears running down his face like Sakura had never seen before.

He raised his arms as he stepped back and leaned back and disappeared over the edge of the Hokage mountain falling backwards.

**_'YOU ARE NOT A MONSTER KIT… I WISH I COULD OF HELPED YOU UNDERSTAND THAT'_** sounded in his mind as he fell.

**_"N-NARUTO!"_** she screamed as she ran up to the spot he just fell off.

She watched his body fall, a body that looked like it had resigned to its fate of death.

She watched as his body tumbled against the cliff face and disappeared into the trees below and could hear a soft **_'thud'_** from below along with the **'crackles' **of the breaking trees that were in the way of his body as he crashed through them.

She sobbed as she thought about the look on his face. The look of a man who did something wrong but didn't know what it was.

She looked down at the spot where he had placed something.

She crouched down as she picked up the object.

It looked to be and old lockette which she opened carefully.

A picture of her as a child was contained within it along with a single Sakura pedal and a small piece of her pink hair. The pedal looked like it was picked just a second ago. It was still moist and alive. And then it wilted like it was dying.

She widened her eyes as she remembered it now…

_Flashback…_

"Naruto-baka!" said a young Sakura as her and Naruto where in class in the Academy.

"Here!" she offered the small lockette to him.

"T-Thanks for saving me from those bullies the other day. Next time I'm sure Sasuke-kun will do it. But thanks" she said.

She ran over and gave him a slight hug in acknowledgment as a young Naruto looked at the locket surprised as he clutched it after opening it and seeing what was inside. A small portion of her pink hair and a picture of her. This was his first gift given to him by anyone. He put it in his jacket as he watched her run away as she looked back at him as he wore a big smile on his face.

_End Flashback…_

"H-He kept it…. all this time…" she started sobbing as she held it.

She bounded off the cliff to the spot he disappeared to.

She saw him…

A broken body laid on the floor by the base of a tree. Some tree branches were sticking out of his body with blood flowing from them.

She could see his labored breathing as he would gasp every so often.

She looked into his eyes, she could see his pupils dilated as his blue eyes just looked up into the sky unwaveringly.

"N-Naruto" she asked as she put a hand on him.

She got no response.

She ran a medical scan on him and couldn't find much that was not broken and could sense heavy internal bleeding.

Somehow he had survived the fall off the Hokage monument as she looked up realizing just how high it was now that he fell from as she could see an opening where he crashed through in the canopy of the trees.

"Take him to the interrogation facilities" said a voice from behind Sakura that startled her as she whirled around to see who it was.

"D-Danzo-sama" she said as she looked at him.

Two ninja's picked up his destroyed body and shunshin'ed away with him.

"W-Wait he needs urgent medical attention" she protested as Danzo just looked down at her.

"Come with me" he commanded.

_At the interrogation facilities…_

Sakura followed Danzo up to a room and she could see Naruto lying on the table hooked up to some strange devices.

"The devices will keep him alive as long as we need him" Danzo commented as Sakura looked at him.

"W-What?" she asked looking at him.

"You are to interrogate him and find out why he raped the Hyuuga" Danzo replied.

**_"WHAT!"_** she said sharply.

Danzo handed her an ear piece and a full body outfit which she took, looking at it panicking.

"Put it all on, I will direct you in this interrogation of him. You must follow my every command. If you do not, I will have him removed from the life support system which will kill him immediately… Understand?" Danzo commanded with authority to her.

"H-Hai" was all she could say.

_'H-He would kill Naruto if I don't follow orders'_ she thought as she started to get tears in her eyes again.

"Don't say a word at all. I will do the talking" Came the voice of Danzo thru her ear.

She walked into the room with Naruto wearing an attire that didn't allow one to see the identity of the person at all.

She stopped next to Naruto, she saw his eyes move to look at her. It appeared he was alert compared to before.

"What is your name" sounded from an overhead speaker.

"N-Naruto U-Uzumaki" he replied.

"What is your Ninja registration" echoed back.

"0..1…2…6…6…0" he replied.

("Break his hand") sounded in her ear.

**_ 'Oh my god, I can't do this'_** screamed in Sakura's head as she hesitated.

("Do it… or he dies immediately") commanded in her ear.

After a pause…**_ 'CRACK'_** sounded as she crushed his hand with a hammer that was on a table with other instruments. Naruto screamed aloud with the pain of his hand breaking.

He tried to manifest chakra but it was no use, he couldn't the room he was in was littered with seals that blocked his chakra.

"Try again…" sounded from above.

"0..1..2..6..0…7" he replied as he looked at the figure as he gasped for air from the pain of his broken hand.

"Did you… or did you not rape Hyuuga Hinata" sounded in the room.

"N-No" he replied.

("Stab him")

She slowly got the kunai off the tray which she could see Naruto look at as he looked up at her as she moved in close.

**_'STAB'_** she put it in a spot which would miss anything vital as he screamed in pain.

"Why are you doing this!" he screamed at her.

"Did you… or did you not rape Hyuuga Hinata" sounded again.

**_"N-NO!" _**he screamed out loud.

("Stab him in the bone in his leg, make sure it goes thru") sounded in her ear.

She picked up a longer blade and moved over to his leg as she looked back up at him.

"N-No, please don't do that" Naruto pleaded.

He couldn't see the tears falling down her face hidden behind her mask and attire.

She raised the knife and drove it down into his leg thru the bone as ordered as he let out another blood curdling scream.

She went to go pull the blade out-

("Leave it in his leg") she was feeling levels of anger directed at Danzo that she didn't think she could feel against somebody. She thought back to what she said to Naruto and remember his broken state.

She felt guilt at what she said to him, she was so angry that he would possibly do that to somebody. The Naruto she knew would never do something like that to anyone, even a foe. But the facts also couldn't be overlooked that it was clear Naruto raped Hinata physically.

"Did you… or did you not rape Hyuuga Hinata" sounded a third time.

"Y-Yes" Naruto managed to say between the pain racking his body as he writhed on the table. Naruto couldn't think of any other possible explanation. Not that the person hurting him would listen to.

That caught Sakura off guard as she looked over surprised.

_'He really… raped her and meant it'_ she thought as she processed his reply as she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Why did you do it?" sounded from above.

"I-I can't explain it" Naruto admitted.

("Stab his eye") came thru loud and clear.

**_'N-No I can't do that'_** she screamed as she stayed near the tray of instruments.

("Do it.. or he dies") sounded in her ear. As she couldn't force herself to pick up an instrument.

Arata and Haru appeared in the room near the equipment. She quickly realized they were there to shut it down and kill Naruto.

**_'NOOO!'_** she screamed in her head.

She motioned for them to stand down as she picked up a scalpel as she moved back over to Naruto.

She held it over his right eye.

**_"NO!"_** Naruto screamed unable to move as he tried to get away from the blade as she held it over his right eye and raised it.

**_'I'M SORRY NARUTO!'_** she screamed mentally as she drove the blade down into his eye.

**_"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"_** the most horrible blood curdling scream she ever heard come from anyone, let alone Naruto seemed to shatter her ear drums.

She had drove down hard enough to accidently force the scalpel to be lodged in his eye socket.

**_'ROOOOOOAAAAAARRRRR'_** The Kyuubi was absolutely livid in Naruto's mind as it witnessed this from inside its cage. While it was evil incarnate, Naruto had grown on the Kyuubi and it was seeing some of the deepest and darkest aspects of mankind as Naruto was being tortured. However the chakra it was trying to pump into him didn't seem to be of any effect. The seal on Naruto's body was stopping it from forcing enough chakra to overwhelm the seals.

"Why did you do it?" was asked again.

**_"I-I don't know what happened! I was making love to Sakura and after we were done I was looking at Hinata! I SWEAR I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED! I THOUGHT IT WAS SAKURA THE WHOLE TIME!"_** Naruto screamed as he was wracked with pain.

**_"JUST KILL ME… JUST END THIS… I DON'T DESERVE TO BE ALIVE"_** was all Naruto could say on his own behalf.

Sakura just stared at Naruto as she comprehended what he said. She had just tortured Naruto and really destroyed his body in ways she never could imagine herself doing yet it was happening right now. She hated Danzo with every fiber of her being.

What had they just made her do to Naruto? And she was wrong about Naruto, he hadn't raped Hinata. He thought he was making love to her all along. She dropped to her knees and cried with pure anger.

**_"OH MY GOD WHAT HAVE I DONE!"_** she screamed.

"What you have done… is passed' Danzo stated

"Welcome to the Ni-Yurei…"echoed in the room.

Naruto was in too much pain to really understand what was said other than he heard Sakura's name.

"S-Sakura! Where are you!" he shouted in a manner that an animal would call out to its kin for help.

Sakura jumped up crying and ran over to Naruto and grabbed onto him.

**_"NARUTO!" _**she screamed as she held one of his hands while using medical chakra on him with the other.

"S-Sakura…. please… kill me…" he asked as he found her form in his vision with his remaining eye.

"N-No! Don't say that Naruto" she shouted back.

"I'll take care of you like I always do, I promise" she added as she was rapidly busy trying to shoot his body with pain relieving chakra so she could get some of the items out of him.

He started to visibly relax as the pain treatment kicked in which allowed him to lay flat rather than writhing in pain.

"S-Sakura, why are you here?" he asked sounding out of it.

"I'm here to help you Naruto" she responded as she gently squeezed his hand that wasn't broken she couldn't dare bring herself to mention what she did to him under orders from Danzo.

She managed to take out the long blade from his leg and also the scalpel in his eye but his eye was too damaged to try to reconstruct and she had to remove it. As she did this she cried, she always loved Naruto's ocean blue eyes.

_'I have just destroyed something beautiful and of which there is no replacement'_ she thought as she looked at the eye crying as she held it in her hand.

"Sakura… please don't leave me" Naruto mumbled as she worked on him.

She stopped and ran her hand over his face as carefully as she could.

"I'm right here Naruto, I will always be with you… _TOGETHER_.. remember?"" she asked him.

"He found her eyes with his one good eye while his other was closed with blood pulling out of it and he gently squeezed her hand.

"T-Together…" he said as a tear fell out of his good eye and ran down his face.

Sakura could only sob at the sight as she held onto Naruto tightly.

_'Welcome to the Ni-Yurei'_ echoing in her mind as she cried.


	10. Chapter 10 - A Blind Spot

**[Chapter 10 – A Blind Spot]**

_'Sakura'_ was all Naruto could picture in his mind as he laid there coming back to the land of the living.

All he could remember was pain, tremendous pain. All he could picture was Sakura's face looking back at him as she cried as she worked on healing him.

He reached up and felt the bandage covering his right eye as he realized that it was not a dream that something had happened to his eye.

He could smell Sakura's scent as she always wore sweet perfume that was unique to her. He reached out with his arm feeling his surroundings as he met what felt like hair off to his left.

Naruto opened his left eye slowly as he ran his hand over the hair. He moved his head over to his left seeing a sleeping Sakura as she was leaning over his bed.

She shifted slightly under his touch as he continued to rub her hair gently.

He could feel his eye missing in his right eye socket, but he didn't feel any pain.

_'She put me back together…'_ he thought fondly of her as he could imagine her working until the end and falling asleep from exhaustion. He could always depend on her, he had someone that no matter what. He could depend on.

**_'YOU MONSTER, HOW DARE YOU TO DO THAT TO HER!' _**replayed in his mind as he remembered seeing the visage of Sakura as she was upset, and crying.

_'She thought I had raped Hinata when she said that'_ he thought to himself. He got an idea of just how fragile bonds could be. Something that could be broken, many years of work, trust, and care could be undone by a single action.

_'It happened with her and Sasuke'_ he thought as he recalled how her feelings had changed about Sasuke from one of love to hate.

_'These bonds I have, could be cut at any moment'_ he thought as he thought about the people in his mind whom he felt he did have them with.

_'I can't lose them, these bond are what drive me to fight, and to care'_

_'How could you live like that Sasuke?'_ he asked himself as he thought of his lost brother who was laser focused on destroying any bonds he had with anyone.

Naruto's bonds are what always drove him to exist. When he thought he lost the bonds of the 2 most important people in his life, he couldn't think of living, and tried not to with his leap off the Hokage monument.

_'She loved me since the beginning'_ he thought bitterly as to what he had done to Hinata.

_'And she was always by my side'_ he thought of Sakura as he looked down at her asleep form.

_'I… I was wrong to have jumped'_ he lamented.

_'I need to fight, no matter how hard the situation could become'_ he thought as a sense of renewed devotion developed in his chest.

His friends and precious people were worth existing for and fighting for.

_'Even now, Sakura is here by my side'_ he thought considering the situation that he found himself in.

_'I need to find out what happened with Hinata… there's no way I would of done something like that to her… voluntarily'_ he thought as his eyes widened and his face took on a deep look of anger.

"Naruto?" came the sleepy voice of Sakura.

"I'm here" he responded as he continued rubbing the hair on her head.

"Are you okay?" she asked as she reached out grabbing his hand from her head as she raised up to sit next to him shaking off her groggy state.

"Thanks to you, I am" he responded back honestly.

Images of what she did flashed in her mind, as she looked at him with guilty eyes and fought back the urge to cry. She had cried enough in the last couple of weeks, she was exhausted from it all.

_'I-I have to be strong for him'_ she thought as she looked at him.

"I-I'm sorry Naruto" she said lowly.

"For… what?" he asked back wondering as he lifted an eye brow.

"Your eye, I couldn't repair it, I had to remove it" she said back as she rubbed his hand.

"Oh… it's okay, I'm alive.. Thanks to you" he offered with a small smile that tugged at the corner of his mouth.

She could only smile back lightly in return while her emotions within her where in chaos.

_'How could he be like this after what he went thru?'_ she asked herself of him. Naruto had a spirit that couldn't seem to ever be kept down for long.

_'I saw him at his lowest point ever, and I said some terrible things to him, yet here he is.. still offering a smile at me'_ she thought.

"How… can you even smile Naruto" she asked honestly opting to go for what was directly on her mind.

"Because I have you here Sakura. You didn't leave me." he said as she widened her eyes.

"Together.. remember?" he added.

"Hai" she replied softly as her eyes took on a soft look.

Sakura took on a far off look while Naruto just adjusted his head to look back up at the ceiling as he realized he as in her apartment again, both of them enjoying the quiet moment.

"We passed" she said after a while.

"So we will be together after all" he responded.

"Hai, we will take the oath together Naruto" she replied back looking at him as he just looked up as she squeezed his hand gently.

_'The oath'_ he thought. It was always rumored of the oath amongst the ninja population in dark stories. Supposedly it was a binding between the team members reserved only to the most trusted of the elite partnerships. People could only ever guess and imagine what it actually meant.

Sakura reached back into her pouch and pulled out the lockette that Naruto had dropped on the ground previously.

"Here, this belongs to you" she said grabbing his attention as he looked back at her.

Naruto just looked at it for a moment before a soft smile graced his lips. He picked up the lockette and put it back within his cloak.

"Can you tell me what happened with Hinata?" she asked him not sure how to approach the subject. But she had to get a better understanding.

"I can't really explain it Sakura…. I thought we were doing that test and at the very end after I… finished. It was her in the bed instead of you." he said slowly as he recalled the memories which were still fresh and crystal clear in his mind.

"I don't even think anything regarding the test between us happened" he added as everything felt real, there was no discernable genjutsu he could identify.

"We did do some things together Naruto" she replied as he looked back at her.

"I…got myself off on you and I had gone to my room to go wait for you, and when I did that… you left" she said looking back at him. Images and feelings of how he felt when she did that to Naruto played in her mind briefly.

"Do you not remember anything out of place?" she probed.

"No, not that I could remember" he responded as he analyzed his memory.

"Could it of been a genjutsu?" he asked her.

"That's very possible, although if you didn't even have a hint of it…" she spoke aloud as she thought.

"But your terrible at identifying genjutsu's Naruto. I don't even have to use my better ones on you at all" she added as it was true.

"I know… I hate that mental battle stuff. If I know I'm in one I can break out of them no problem" he retorted which was also true as he had both his own and the Kyuubi's chakra which overwhelmed the illusions.

His eyes widened as he realized something.

"_WAIT!_ there was one that I couldn't get out of before!" he said as he spoke his thoughts.

"What kind of genjutsu was it?" she inquired interested in what could contain him as powerful as he was at breaking out of them.

"Tsukuyomi" was all he said as he looked at Sakura noticing she looked puzzled.

"It was one of Itachi's Mangekyou's abilities" he supplied which Sakura then clicked with what he was talking about.

"When did you get caught up with Itachi?" she asked as this was news to her.

"Back during my travels with Ero-sensei, we ran into him more than a few times, I could never break out of it" he said.

"How did Jiraiya-san get out of it?" she asked as it was obvious to her he must of somehow had a way around it.

"He wasn't dumb enough to look Itachi in the eyes" he responded deflating her hope.

"That's all it took?" she asked, that was a completely overpowered genjutsu she thought. She has to use triggers of sorts for her, she couldn't cast a genjutsu alone with her eyes, at least she never thought to try…

_'I have to try that'_ she thought at this new revelation. Although she didn't have the Sharingan, it was an interesting approach to Genjutsu.

"Yea… I've heard of being able to resist Genjutsu from some or Ero-senin's scrolls but I could never understand the concepts. One was a seal, and the other was a chakra technique… I'm terrible at both as I don't have the knowledge of seals really and my chakra control at fine levels is non-existant" he responded.

"You could probably do it though" he said as he thought of her capabilities.

"Where are the scrolls?" she asked.

"Somewhere in the wave country where Jiraiya fell…" he said sadly.

"But yes, we will have to get them" he later responded causing her to look at him.

"What are you going to do about your eye?" she asked.

"I don't know… I'm going to have to work on my guard as I don't know yet how it's going to be affected. I was hoping it would grow back.." he admitted slightly downcast.

"Grow back?" she asked puzzled.

"Kyuubi" was all he had to say.

"Oooh" she drawled out. It was true how the Kyuubi had always healed Naruto's major wounds, although she had never seen him lose a body part completely.

**_'I COULD…. BUT I WON'T'_** Sounded in his mind catching his attention as he got a somewhat far off look on his face that Sakura noticed.

_'Why not?_ _You have always healed me before?'_ he question back in his mind.

**_'SO YOU WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER'_** growled back.

_'Remember what?'_ he responded..

**_'WHAT THEY DID TO YOU KIT…'_** growled out

He thought back to his eye and losing it. It was done in the village, but they thought he had intentionally raped Hinata.

_'They were interrogating me thinking I had done that to Hinata on purpose'_ he replied back in his mind.

**_'SOMEDAY YOU'LL HAVE TO GROW OUT OF BEING THAT NAÏVE NARUTO'_** came in response.

_'What?'_ he shot back. But he got no response after waiting a while.

He focused back on Sakura who was just looking at him closely.

"You were talking to it, weren't you?" she asked after a little bit of a pause as she contemplated if she should ask it.

He knew what she was talking about.

"Yea" he responded back.

"What did you talk about?" she asked wondering what Naruto could be doing talking to the demon in him.

"He was letting me know that he could, but wouldn't regrow my eye" he responded.

"Why? Especially if he could do that?" she asked getting upset with the demon.

"Because he wants me to always remember what my kind did to me…" that immediately cut through Sakura's anger. She couldn't help but get a sharp pain in her heart at that one.

"O-oh" was all she could muster after that verbal punch.

_A Month Later in Training Ground #3…_

Sakura and Naruto sparred but this time Naruto's face was heavily damaged on his right side that he couldn't see due to losing his right eye.

Sakura dashed next to Naruto's left side causing him to block the blow, what he didn't see was a clone of Sakura's appear and land a chakra enhanced kick to his right side of his face which was already bleeding.

**_'CRACK'_**

Naruto went tumbling away as he landed hard skidding to a stop on the ground.

_'SHIT, I can't get into sage mode, she won't even let me stop moving for a brief amount of time'_ he thought.

Sakura was methodically cutting away at his usual battle boosters forcing him to not be able to fight at his full power he was normally used to. At least before he could guard against her enough to get a moment to enter sage mode.

But now she could constantly get an opening with him as he couldn't see what was coming from his right and he was paying dearly for it.

"Damnit!" he yelled as he hit the ground in frustration.

_'She's doing a great job not ghosting herself anymore'_ he thought to himself. At least she was improving if he wasn't.

_'I need to get into sage mode so I can see her'_ he thought. He could hear her and her clone rapidly approaching.

He had been taking a beating for the last couple hours every time they would have another spar together. When Naruto started teaching Sakura the shadow clone technique, he found out that thru fine chakra control the clones could sustain hits, a lot of hits. She could only manage 1 clone, but it was pure quality.

The only times he was able to dispel it was when he used lethal moves on it. She was no push over, and that really made him proud as she did work hard and train hard with him especially with the shadow clone.

But now she was constantly getting the upper hand.

**_'CRACK'_** pain radiated from the right side of his face again as he went tumbling again.

_'That's it!'_ he thought extremely frustrated. He had enough time to think, he was getting caught up in thoughts of Sakura when he could of probably of entered sage mode by now. That was his mistake and she was capitalizing on it.

As he tumbled he charged chakra to his feet and caught the ground skidding to a halt standing up facing back to the two Sakura's as he used his Kage Bunshin No Jutsu to create a clone behind him.

**_'POOF'_** sounded behind and the clone rapidly retreated, gaining ground between them.

He ran back at both Sakura's who had slowed down to see what he was going to do next then proceeded to continue running at him as he charged back at them.

He met both of them in hand to hand combat instantly feeling one of the Sakura's land a kick right into his gut as he blocked the blow of the other.

**_'OOF'_** he let out as the kick was a usual chakra special of Sakura's as he held onto her leg tightly as she landed it.

Instantly he felt his Sage mode get activated as his clone had dispelled once it gathered its nature chakra.

He instinctually then bashed the leg downward that was still kicked into his torso.

**_'CRACK'_** sounded as the leg was broken.

The Sakura that had her leg broken yelled in pain as she fell down to the floor as Naruto kicked the other with a round house missing her only by inches, while that Sakura still got hit by the blow and tumbled away courtesy of his frog katas style while in sage mode.

He looked down at Sakura on the floor as she grimaced in pain and looked up at him.

"Are you the real one?" he asked.

"Y-Yea" she responded as her hands started to emit glowing green chakra as she worked to heal her fracture.

Naruto crouched down and secured her leg as the other Sakura walked back over in her disheveled state at getting a blow landed on her in Naruto's sage mode. He hit hard enough to break weapons while in that mode, and it felt like it to the clone.

The clone also crouched down and assisted Sakura in healing herself.

"T-this clone sure can come in handy" she said as she hissed as her leg was mended.

"Yea, you've been doing great Sakura, I still can't believe how your clone is so damn tough" he replied.

"You surprised me with what you did with your clone Naruto" she said as her hands stopped working on her leg finally.

"That was the only way I could get into sage mode, you didn't allow me to stay still long enough" he replied.

"Sorry about your leg, I was a bit upset by how many times you kept getting hits on my face" he let slip.

"Yea your guard is thrown way off, when we are out in the field I'll cover that side of you Naruto" she offered as a peace treaty to him. She did get in a lot of hits and she could tell he was getting frustrated.

"…You big baby" she added jokingly.

He just smiled at her as he offered her his hand to help her up which she took.

She gingerly walked around a little bit on the leg to make sure it felt okay.

"You're the one that broke" he shot back amused at her funny walking.

_"HEY!"_ she shouted at him irked.

**_'SMACK'_** as he flipped over forward and landed on his back.

He looked up at the offending hand to see it belonged to Sakura's clone as the clone looked down at him.

"Thanks" commented Sakura.

"Anytime" said the clone.

Naruto could see up the clones skirt and his eyes lingered on the panties a little long.

The clone lightly kicked him on his head causing him to look back into the eyes of the clone its emerald eyes squinted at him.

A messenger bird alerted the real Sakura's attention as she reached out and picked the message from it.

As the bird flew away she opened up the message.

"It's time" she said as she handed the note to Naruto who was still on the floor.

Sakura's clone dispelled as he read the note .

_Uzumaki, Haruno,_

_It is time to take the oath, meet me in the Hokage's office immediately._

_Danzo_

He charged the note with chakra and it burnt up.

They both stayed silent for a moment as it sunk in. It was one thing to get over the testing, but now this will be the official inauguration of them into the group.

"Sakura…" Naruto finally said causing her to look at him as he lay on the ground.

"Jiraiya-sensei never trusted him" he said as she knew that he was talking about Danzo.

"We will need to be careful, I don't think his interests are in Konoha's best interests" he added to let her know what he was thinking.

"I understand" she replied as she looked off towards the Hokage's tower. She knew that he meant they would need to keep an eye on Danzo, especially with him having total control over the group.

_SILENCE_

Sakura looked back down at Naruto after a little while, the memory of her clone coming into her mind. To her he looked like some mysterious buffoon with his black eye patch with orange lining and the rest of his attire just laying there on the dirt looking up at her.

She knew what he was thinking.

**_"_****_DON'T YOU DARE SAY IT"_** she said icly as she turned and started walking off as she thought back to his seeming addiction of telling her what color of panties she wore anytime he saw them.


	11. Chapter 11 - The Oath

The figures of Sakura and Naruto lingered a few hundred feet from the temporary Hokage building. It was a nice day in Konoha as the villagers mingled around during the hustle and bustle of the rebuilding. The attires of both Sakura and Naruto were somewhat tattered as they had been training hard together earlier in the training grounds before being summoned to the Hokage's office by Danzo.

Sakura looked over at Naruto and noticed the look on his face. He stood looking over to the Hokage's office clearly thinking about something.

_'We will need to be careful'_ played back in her mind as she recalled what Naruto said to her in the training grounds concerning their acceptance into the Ni-Yurei.

"Naruto, what is on your mind?" she asked gaining the attention of Naruto after a moment as he looked over to her with his lone eye.

"I never really realized that this part of the village truly existed. I heard about the other villages' dark practices in passing with my travels with Ero-sensei, but this is our own village Sakura" he said as he looked at her seriously.

"We went thru hell to get to this point Sakura. I'm not sure what really awaits us after this. We are going into a different world that we don't really know about…" he paused as he debated on asking this.

_'I need to make sure I can rely on her'_ he thought to himself as he debated saying it as Sakura looked at him waiting to go on.

"You are still able to get out of this now Sakura, working under Danzo, I don't know what we can expect and I'm worried about it." he said finally while Sakura took her time in considering his words.

_'I can't let you go through this alone Naruto'_ she thought to herself as images of all their times together played like a movie in her mind. _'And I need to make a lot up to you'_ she thought bitterly to what she had to do during the interrogation. She knew how much Naruto needed her as she had hung to his words he told her previously which confirmed to her that she was not useless to him.

"I appreciate it Naruto, but this is something that we are doing together'" she said resolutely back at him as she re-affirmed her thoughts and commitment to him.

Naruto just smiled slightly at the corner of his mouth as he put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed lightly thankful of her commitment to him.

"We will need to be wary of Danzo…" was all he could say about the ever mysterious and supposedly plotting Danzo.

"What should we do about him?" Sakura asked as she was also wondering how to handle the situation there.

"We need to talk to baa-chan about that more when we can get the opportunity, away from him. From what Ero-Sensei told me, I think she will have some things to say about that based on the mistrust he always had for him" he said to Sakura as he opened up to Sakura on the subject.

"You think so she said?" she asked as she was having questions about her own sensei and how she could allow these things to go on in the village.

"Yea, I caught the tension between the two about the way Danzo is able to control the team completely. Not giving authority to the Hokage in that regard seems really strange. I don't understand how the Fire Daimyo would even allow that." Naruto admitted as the thought was completely puzzling to him based on his understanding of the system.

"Usually the Hokage has full authority with only the Fire Daimyo superseding that, I don't understand how or why Danzo was given special privileges there" he said aloud as he spoke his mind.

"I see… so we should ask shishou about that when we can… there might be some political conflict there…" she said as she understood what Naruto was getting at.

"Yea… let's go" he responded as he removed his hand from her should and began walking to the Hokage office with Sakura following behind.

_In the Hokage Office…_

Naruto and Sakura walked in after being summoned by Shizune and sat at the chairs in front of the Hokage's desk. Tsunade was sitting in her chair while Danzo was standing off to the side next to her with both of them watching the pair as they just sat down and got situated.

"Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura,

You have both officially passed the Ni-Yurei entrance examinations and have since been invited to join the ranks of the group.

The Ni-Yurei, are teams of two only, who are on active duty at all times and required to see through the missions assigned to them as ordered. You will be the ghosts of Konoha, and from the shadows you will ensure that Konoha remains at the top of the pillars of power that are made up by the other villages.

You will act as the authority of Konoha abroad, and you will fully submit to the will of the village.

This group is not meant for ninja's who are interested in fame and glory. This group is meant to deliver on the will of fire, and ensure that the village remains a safe village and the home for all citizens of Konoha. The enemies of Konoha are vast in numbers, and you both will work from the shadows to eliminate any threats to Konohagakure.

You will also be bound to each other. You comrade will be the only person you can rely on out there, not the village. You will need to protect each other and work together to ensure the success of your missions to your village. Your own families and friends are forbidden to come in the way of your own comrade and village; this is what you sacrifice to be the true protectors of your village and its interests.

Joining the Ni-Yurei is a complete submission to the village which will be enforced. There is no way out once accepted, unless by death, or by release from the Hokage.

Do you both accept your assignment into the Ni-Yurei group?

This is your final chance to withdraw your application." Danzo stated in his monotone voice as he looked over both Naruto and Sakura while the Hokage looked on as well with a serious gaze.

_'The time has come'_ Naruto thought as he closed his eye to think about the village, what it meant to him, what Sakura and his friends meant to him and his need to protect them all. And in particular that he now has a true responsibility to Sakura and her as him most important comrade and person aside from his village. She was going to be with him through thick and thin from now on.

"I accept my assignment "stated Naruto resolutely after a long pause as he opened his eye and looked back at both Tsunade and Danzo.

"I accept my assignment" followed quickly from Sakura as she also realized the heavy significance and responsibilities to herself and to Naruto. They would be stronger than family or friends.

"Turn in your forehead protectors and identities" was stated by Tsunade causing the pair to look over at her directly.

"What do you mean?" asked Naruto somewhat puzzled by the request.

"Naruto, Sakura; neither of you are going to be recognized by the village in our military registration. As of now, you are both weapons of Konoha, identity-less weapons. Our enemies must not be able to tie you back to the village if you are ever caught. If you are ever caught, you will be identified as Nukenin by the village. The village will not come to your aide" she stated as both Naruto's and Sakura's eyes widened slightly at what they were hearing.

_This was serious_

"Konoha will also enforce that you are both incapable of defecting" was stated by Danzo gaining their attention.

"Defecting… Enforce?" Naruto stated aloud questioningly.

"We need to ensure such secrets of your missions do not fall into the wrong hands Naruto, Sakura; your lives will be bound together by a Kinjutsu which is able to force both of your terminations by the acting Hokage" was said by Hokage as she looked on seriously.

"Terminations… you mean… kill?" asked Sakura somewhat accusingly.

"Yes" was stated by Danzo.

"All of your missions will be top secret, you are required to patrol the land of all 5 great nations and establish your own safe houses as needed. Naruto, I will need you to re-establish Jiraiya's spy network." Tsunade stated.

"Remember, you must work in the shadows. You must avoid bringing attention to yourselves. If either of you are ever caught and you can't get each other out of that situation, then we require you to also use the same Kinjutsu to destroy each other to not allow your knowledge to fall into enemy hands. Do you understand?" asked Tsunade very seriously to the pair.

"Y-Yes" said Sakura causing Naruto to look briefly at her.

"Yes" was added by Naruto as well.

"You will be required to check in weekly, if that time lapses, then the Kinjutsu will be activated terminating you both as a failsafe" stated Danzo.

"Remember Naruto, Sakura; you need to always put the village first before any choice from now on, we are relying on you being able to fully fulfill this role to the village" said Tsunade as she stood up from her chair and walked over to the sitting pair.

"Do you have any questions?" she added as she stopped to look at both of them as she reached her hand out.

"…What was my test?" asked Naruto as he handed her his Konoha ID and took off his Hitai-ate and paused briefly to look at it.

Images of cutting Sasuke's forehead protector and the slashed forehead protector of Itachi flashed in his mind. They still had forehead protectors to wear to show where they came from. He didn't even have that now.

_'Are we nothing more than weapons to the village?'_ he thought as he recalled his pride in his hitai-ate.

He handed over his forehead protector to Tsunade.

Sakura followed shortly after taking off her forehead protector and getting her ID also handing both off to Tsunade.

"You were able to be successfully interrogated of information, which means you did not withhold information from the village. That showed that you are trustworthy of being in the Ni-Yurei" Danzo responded to his question.

"What do you mean… you had this done to me on purpose?" Naruto said pointing to his covered right eye.

"Yes" he responded darkly.

"I don't understand, why injure your own… weapons. Wouldn't that hurt our possibility for success in our missions?" replied Naruto as he looked at him with his remaining eye.

"You will adapt… or die; which will include your teammate's life as well. Her life in your hands will provide sufficient importance for you to keep yourself alive or die trying" Danzo retorted causing Naruto to look hard at him.

Naruto wanted to yell at him, but this was not a man you yell at, and worse, this was his new commander. Naruto knew from now on her would have to take orders from him and do as he said. He looked over to Sakura who looked back at him knowing what was going on in his mind as she nodded to him as a sign to let him know she understood what he was thinking.

_'We will protect each other Naruto'_ Sakura thought as she had nodded her head to Naruto when he looked over. Sakura was feeling sick inside at what they were learning. This was nothing like the rumors about the Ni-Yurei.

"Who can know about our missions?" Sakura asked aloud.

"Only the Hokage and I, anybody else will be notified by us appropriately" responded Danzo.

"How did Sakura pass her test?" asked Naruto causing Sakura to look over to him somewhat startled as she was not expecting him to ask that.

"She followed orders…" replied Danzo.

"I don't understand… what orders?" Naruto probed confused by the vague response.

_'Kami, please don't tell him'_ thought Sakura as images of her stabbing Naruto's eye played in her mind and the scream he let out when she did so causing her demeanor to change to one of sadness.

"She was your interrogator" replied Danzo shocking Naruto once he processed what he had said. Naruto looked over to Sakura for some form of confirmation.

She couldn't even look at him he noticed as she looked down to the ground.

_'She… did it'_ he thought as pain welled inside him. This was his comrade, his pillar. It was her who had injured him during that interrogation. He felt angry, betrayed, and hurt by her as his visage took on a somewhat angry look.

"Is that true?" he asked in Sakura's direction as he looked at her.

She could feel his stare on her. She could feel the pain in it.

"Y-Yes" she stumbled out as she felt ashamed for what she had did. Despite it being under orders from Danzo and that he had threatened Naruto's life.

"Why?" Naruto asked as Sakura could her his anger in his voice.

"Because I was ordered to… We have to follow orders Naruto" she responded back slowly and painfully.

_'I had to save your life'_ she thought as anger welled up in her at the position Danzo had put her in. She thought about how Danzo had originally threatened Naruto. He inner self was screaming at her to tell Naruto about Danzo threatening his life. But she knew better of doing that in front of Danzo. It felt as if Danzo was daring her to state what he had done. But she thought better of it. She would have to tell Naruto away from this situation.

Naruto could hear a sinister laugh in his mind, the Kyuubi was laughing and it caused anger to swell up inside. His whole world was turning upside down with that revelation. Naruto was not expecting that Sakura could be capable of that.

He looked over to Tsunade who was just looking at him with a stoic look. But he could see her look over to Danzo with a somewhat agitated body language.

He was trying so hard with every fiber of his being to understand why Sakura would do something like that to him, and at least not try to fight it. While Sakura hit him from time to time, this was completely different. His image of Sakura was starting to change as he thought about the moments he thought he shared with her and her feelings she had displayed to him. He couldn't match those up with her torturing him during the interrogation.

"I… see" was all he could say aloud to which Sakura heard and flinched as she could hear the anger and pain in his voice.

_'This will ensure they will not be close enough to each other to defect'_ thought Danzo as he watched the emotional struggle happening between Naruto and Sakura.

"What about what happened with Naruto and Hinata" asked a downcast Sakura as she thought about what happened between them. She had remembered seeing the results of the rape as she did the assessment on Hinata.

This question only served to upset Naruto more as he thought back to what happened regarding that.

"That is not a concern for either of you" responded Danzo, again vaguely.

This caused both of them to look up at him.

"Bu-" was all Naruto could get out.

"Come Naruto, Sakura; It is time to apply the Kinjutsu" was interjected by Tsunade as she looked over to Danzo puzzled and slightly upset which both Naruto and Sakura caught. While both of them had more questions, neither of them had the will to ask anymore as the revelations thus far had really put both of them in a bad mood. They both briefly thought about having to talk to each other about the answers as they got up and followed Tsunade and Danzo as they left the Hokage's office.

_In a chamber in the basement of the Hokage's tower…_

The group entered the room which was decorated with plain walls but vast arrays of seals in intricate patterns littered the walls and floor.

In the floor were two big circles and two small circles all interconnected by complex looking seals.

Naruto and Sakura looked over the assortment of arrays briefly as it was unlike anything they had ever seen before.

"Naruto, Sakura, each of you stand in one of the large circles" said Tsunade as her and Danzo went to stand in the smaller interconnected circles.

"What is this?" asked Naruto who stated what Sakura was about to ask.

"This is the Ketsueki Maji Fuin Kinjutsu" replied Tsunade causing both Naruto and Sakura to look at her puzzled.

"This Kinjutsu was developed by the Senju, although for what exact purpose has been lost in the records. This sealing jutsu merges your blood and chakra's together to be one. In effect, you will both gain each other attributes of Chakra and affinities to elements." she added.

"W-Wow" was all Sakura could say as she thought of the implications.

"Will Sakura have to deal with… the Kyuubi?" Naruto asked as he looked over to her and Sakura in turn looked back at him at his question.

"No, you will still be the only container of the Kyuubi, Naruto. However she will be able to share in your Chakra as you both will have the same Chakra signatures after this. To what extent she can use that is unknown." Tsunade replied s she thought about it.

"Why… Is this a Kinjutsu?" asked Sakura as she took in the extra information.

Sharing the same blood and Chakra as Naruto is something that she couldn't quite comprehend. She remembered the concept of having slight pieces of chakra embedded in people and objects from advanced training. When the chakra was the exact same, that Chakra was interconnected.

In essence, it seemed at least in theory, like she and Naruto would share a chakra pool and could in theory use the same abilities due to sharing the same blood. But what was so dangerous about this to label it a Kinjutsu? That is what was on her mind.

_'We would share the same blood? Like a brother and a sister'_ she thought briefly as the memory of Naruto saying she was like a sister played in her mind.

"Control" responded Danzo causing all in the room to look at him.

"The Senju found that they couldn't control the subjects created by it. While the original uses as a technique were lost, the one piece of information that did survive about it, was that it was a potential calamity waiting to happen. If you do not control something with immense power, you are in effect opening the doors to your own destruction" he added to his explanation.

"With my Ura Shisho Fuin, that will be the control mechanism" he stated.

"What does that sealing technique do?" asked Naruto.

"Since you and Sakura would share the same blood, when activated, it would effectively destroy both of you simultaneously. If either of you die, it is automatically activated. And it can be activated by any of us. It is the control mechanism to keep you both in check and for yourselves to do the same as required of you in case you do fall into enemy hands." he added seriously.

"That is what you accepted" he said with finality as both Naruto and Sakura thought about it as this is something they would have to do in the event either one got into trouble.

_'Could I really kill her and myself if she got in trouble?'_ Naruto thought as the though did cross his mind that if she were killed, he would die to.

Similar thoughts were playing in Sakura's mind as she looked over to Naruto and could tell he was having similar trouble.

"Do you both understand what is required of you?" asked Tsunade as all them were standing where they were supposed to.

"Yes" both Naruto and Sakura responded.

_'We'll have to kill ourselves if that ever happened… For the village'_ both of them thought with downcast expressions.

Both of them also shared in similar thoughts about the deeper they got into the group, the more their humanity was seemingly being forced out of them.

**_"Ketsueki Maji Fuin Kinjutsu"_** shouted Tsunade as she went through seals rapidly and the seals flared into activity.

**_"Ura Shisho Fuin"_** shouted Danzo as well going through seals to apply the sealing technique into the chakra from Tsunade's jutsu as their chakra's intertwined from the smaller connecting circles.

The chakra then flowed into the large interconnected circles to which bodies of chakra appeared from Sakura and Naruto.

The bodies then slowly merged into each other in between the circles as both of the ninja's began to feel their entire bodies burning as they looked onto their chakra representations of themselves as they both watched the figures slowly merge with the corresponding pains wracking their bodies.

As the merging got more complete the pain only grew until it was unbearable and both were heard screaming as the seals all around the room were bustling with activity.

As the forms finished merging into one, one last bolt of pain washed over both Naruto and Sakura and they both collapsed onto the floor with the sealing complete unconscious from the technique.

_The next day in the hospital…_

Sakura realized she was coming back to consciousness as she could hear talking around her. The voice of Tsunade was close although she couldn't really comprehend what was being said.

She pulled out further from her groggy state hearing her shishou talking to an assistant about lab results.

She opened her eyes and looked at the hospital ceiling as she took notice that she was lying in a hospital bed.

She looked down at her body as she laid there and she immediately realized that something felt off.

_Power._

She felt like power radiated from inside her, her whole body tingled with the feeling. It felt as if she had chakra bursting from her pathways whereas before she was always accustomed to the feeling of a fine amount. This felt like there were literal rivers running all through her body.

_'This is his power'_ Sakura thought as she was beginning to get an idea of how it must feel for Naruto. Sakura had previously done tests on his Chakra with Tsunade and could always easily the see the difference in his from others. It was bright, and hard to get it to do anything she wanted for it to do during the tests. It seemed to have a mind of its own unlike other chakra that simply flowed to the path of least resistance in her chakra containers. Naruto's snaked about.

Only now she could feel it in herself. She felt like she wanted to go break down the walls of the hospital room, like she could do anything. She produced a small chakra scalpel in her hand and she noted that it appeared to be brighter, like a stronger color of green than what she used to create previously.

"Your awake" she heard the familiar voice of her shishou as she let the chakra scalpel fade away.

"How do you feel?" asked Tsunade.

"I feel… different… like I have this immense feeling of power all over my body. It feels like my pathways are bulging with chakra" she mentioned to her mentor.

"That would be Naruto's chakra combined with yours, the vast amounts of chakra his body produces is unlike anything yours makes" she responded.

"Yea, I feel it, it's so… powerful" was all Sakura could say as she tried to wrap her mind around the power her body now contained.

"I heard you talking to the assistant about lab results… how did those turn out?" as Sakura could already guess that her mentor was running blood tests and chakra tests on them.

"It came out confirmed that your chakra signature of both of you is different from your old imprints. It now looks like it has pieces of both of your patterns within it. Your blood also bears the signatures of both of you as we saw in the other teams" Tsunade mentioned as she thought back to the other pairs.

"Do we have a group identifier or something?" Sakura asked wondering as she thought back to Team 7.

"Okami" replied Tsunade quickly.

Sakura just looked at her mentor as she questioned its meaning.

"Will we meet the other pairs?" she asked as she thought about the other Ni-Yurei members.

"No, you are all intentionally kept separated from each other for security purposes" Tsunade briefly elaborated.

"Oh" Sakura replied as she realized just how isolated there were going to be in their new group.

"You both will have an orientation into the group with me and Danzo in a couple days. For now you will need to remove your belongs from your office in the hospital Sakura, as you are officially dedicated to the Ni-Yurei now, you will no longer be working in the hospital" she said to Sakura.

"What?" Sakura said looking at her mentor forgetting about this aspect and how it would apply to her.

"You have an oath to your comrade and your village now Sakura, you will need to be devoted to both of those. For the success of your missions, and the security of the village" Tsunade said in her Hokage tone when she was getting her point across clearly.

"I'm really needed at the hospital" Sakura replied as she knew she was.

"We will manage Sakura, this was what you signed up for" retorted her mentor bringing up that aspect that she asked for this, not the other way around.

"Ok…" was all Sakura could muster as she thought about leaving her post at the hospital. It was something she worked really hard for, but now she had to give it up for the village.

"Shishou…" Sakura said gaining Tsunade's attention.

"Would you kill us?" she asked as she thought back to the enforcement clause of their oath.

"...Yes, I will always do what I must for this village Sakura. While you have been my apprentice and I do really care for you; I must not let personal preferences come in the way of my ability to protect my village and all of its citizens" she stated clearly to her apprentice.

"If I am ever forced to make that choice, I will. Please don't let it come to that" she added after a pause as Sakura looked at her.

"I.. understand.. shishou" she replied as she thought what her mentor would have to do if either for them failed their missions. She certainly didn't want to put her mentor in that place, nor herself.

"This is hard for me Sakura, I didn't want this for you, just understand that…" her mentor opened up slightly as she turned to walk out of the room as she paused at the door.

"Go ahead and clean out your office Sakura, we'll have Asami take over for your vacant position" she said as she then walked off.

It made sense to Sakura as her colleague Asami was a very capable medical practitioner with almost all of the same capabilities in medical jutsu as Sakura. But it still hurt to have to give up her position she had been working in different capacities for years.

Sakura got up and proceeded to walk out of the room on her way to her old office. As she walked down the hall she noticed Naruto in a room asleep similar to hers. She peered in and looked at his sleeping form wondering why he hadn't woke up yet. Especially considering how quickly he always got up and out of the hospital during his visits.

_'The merging must of taken a big toll on him she thought'_ as she looked at his peaceful form.

She continued walking in the hospital eventually reaching the floor of her office and was stopped by Asami who called out her name once she saw her.

"Sakura-san, we're swamped at the moment, can you close out the last patient in room 541 for me as I'm needed elsewhere?" Asami asked as she looked at Sakura. It was evident Asami was stressing out a little.

"Sure Asami, did you hear the news?" Sakura asked her.

"Y-Yea, I'm sorry to hear about you having to leave Sakura-san. You will be greatly missed. Where are you going that you have to leave?" Asami asked her.

"I-I can't really say Asami, the village hasn't told me yet" Sakura lied, she hadn't yet really thought about having to keep her Ni-Yurei status hidden so she had to try to get out of Asami's questioning quickly.

"Oh, well thank you again Sakura-san for helping me, I have to get going to go treat a patient, we'll talk later" Asami replied as she bowed to Sakura before leaving to go into a patient room.

_'Whew that was close'_ Sakura thought as she really didn't want to have to think of a good reason to be leaving the hospital as a cover story. She realized this would be something her and Naruto would probably have to get good at with having to travel so much outside of the village.

She proceeded to walk down the hall in search of the room to help Asami.

She stopped in front of the closed door to room 541 as she pulled out the medical chart with the findings as she skimmed to the bottom not bothering with the rest of the content as she was in a little bit of a hurry to clean out her office.

She opened the door and walked in and shut the door behind her as she walked into the room and passed the partially drawn bed curtain.

She stopped in her tracks when she took sight of who was sitting on the bed looking at her with equally enlarged eyes.

_Lavender eyes._

_'Hinata…'_ she thought as she got an immediate sick feeling in her stomach. Images of the unconscious woman and her body that was raped by… Naruto flashed in her mind as she tried to really shove those memories into the recesses of her mind not to recall again.

"Sakura…" said the subdued voice of Hinata.

Hinata's emotions just crashed down completely once she had caught sight of Sakura. She had been expecting her previous doctor Asami to come in to tell her the news.

The news that she was dreading to know…

"Hinata… I'm sorry but the tests results came back positive for…" Sakura said slowly as she tried to get past the mental battle she was having seeing Hinata looking at her very awake unlike the last time she had seen her. She stumbled through the report looking for the context of the positive result to finish her sentence.

"…pregnancy" she said slowly as her eyes widened and she got a huge pang in her chest as her eyes shot back to Hinata.

Hinata slowly held onto herself as she put her head down and slowly started to get wracked by sobs as tears started to come down her eyes.

_"__**OH NO…**__"_ Sakura stated aloud as she realized the implications. Hinata was pregnant with Naruto's child.

This news hit her like the most powerful physical punch she could ever produce from her finite chakra control, and right in the heart.

She stepped forward slowly and sat on the bed next to Hinata as she slowly placed a hand on Hinata's shoulder.

She skimmed the report to find that the DNA matched that of Naruto's ninja registration number. She clenched her eyes closed as she fought back to stop the tears that were threatening to fall out of her own eyes.

Naruto was going to have a child with.. Hinata. That hurt Sakura immensely; it was a feeling like she wished it could be her instead, especially considering the circumstances of how it all happened.

"I-Is it… Naruto's?" came the broken voice of Hinata's as she sobbed quietly.

"Yes" was all Sakura could offer as she felt like her world was crashing down.

All that Sakura could hear was the quiet sobs of Hinata as she worked to steel her own emotions. She was devoted to Naruto now with them being bonded by something much stronger than anything else… blood. She had to be strong for Naruto, it pained her immensely though to look at Hinata as she was now carrying Naruto's child.

"I-I can't believe I'm pregnant… I was told I had the counteracting jutsu to prevent a pregnancy" Hinata sobbed.

"W-What?" asked Sakura incredulously as she knew she hadn't done it.

_'Danzo'_ she thought murderously as she recalled Danzo telling her to not do it to begin with. She thought he would have some other medical ninja do it.

She thought she couldn't hate Danzo any more previously but that quickly got replaced by a new level with this information.

"I thought they made sure I couldn't get pregnant after I reported the attack to the Hokage" Hinata responded as she looked up at Sakura. It was hard for Hinata to see Sakura, seeing her she could only think about her teammate Naruto, the one who did this to her as rage flooded inside her demanding to be let out.

**_"AND FUCKING NARUTO… IT'S ALL HIS FAULT!"_** Hinata finally screamed as anger and pain were spilling out in the tone of her voice. She kept that welled up inside her, but seeing his teammate here next to her, with her hand on her own shoulder was too much. She had to vent to someone, anyone. She couldn't vent to her own family members. They didn't even know the attack happened yet, she hadn't dared told them yet, only the Hokage.

_'She thinks he did it intentionally'_ Sakura thought as she realized where Hinata's assumption of the situation as she was startled by Hinata's outburst.

"Hinata… Naruto was interrogated about the incident. We found that something happened to him causing him to black out during the attack on you. We are investigating into what it is that caused that attack, but all evidence indicated it wasn't…intentional" she said slowly to Hinata making sure the woman heard her while not fully going into the details.

Sakura had partially lied, she didn't know if there was an investigation going on, but she would certainly be doing her own as things just were not adding up to her in her own mind.

"Not… i-intentional" Hinata slowly repeated through sobs.

**_"HOW THE HELL COULD THAT NOT BE INTENTIONAL! I WATCHED HIM RAPE ME SAKURA, I FELT ALL OF IT… I COULD DO NOTHING! HE HAD BINDED ME!"_** Hinata screamed as she continued to let her real emotions burst out.

**_"I LOVED HIM! AND HE DID THIS TO ME… THIS IS WHAT I GOT FOR LOVING HIM!"_** she said as she collapsed onto the bed a mess as she sobbed.

All Sakura could do was look down at her sadly as she could empathize with Hinata and see her point of view. She had to somehow understand what happened between the two.

_'I need Ino's help to look at Naruto's memory'_ she thought as she tried to think of ways to see what Naruto saw. She didn't want Naruto's name to be remember as a rapist, she would have to get to the bottom of that.

But it still pained her terribly, the woman that she wished she could trade places with could only cry at what was happening to her. It was against her own will, but she ended up carrying Naruto's child. Sakura could only imagine how Naruto would take this news. Her eyes widened at that thought.

_'I-I can't tell him about this… The Ni-Yurei…'_ Sakura thought of the implications this would have for Naruto, and future enemies.

She focused back onto Hinata as she had a question she thought of.

"Are you going to have an abortion?" she asked aloud causing the girl to slowly stop sobbing as she watched the form of Hinata on the bed.

"N-No…this isn't the child's fault… I couldn't do that to the… to my child" Hinata slowly answered. She couldn't end the life that was just beginning, despite the situation. She really loved Naruto, but even though he raped her, she couldn't dare think of taking out her anger, betrayal and violation by getting killing off the innocent life growing in her.

Sakura could understand where she was coming from and while she wouldn't admit it, it pained her even more. Because it meant that Hinata would bear Naruto a child even though she hated Naruto.

"Are you going to tell him?" she asked Hinata.

"N-No… and Sakura, please don't tell him either… **_promise me…_**" Hinata said as for once she revealed her eyes again as they were looking deeply into Sakura as her face still contorted with the pain and sadness she was feeling as she was still trying to comprehend the news.

Hinata's hands had involuntarily moved down over her pelvis and she held her hands over that part of her body which Sakura had shifted her eyesight to look at. That hurt Sakura as she could only image herself doing the same with Naruto's baby in her. But with what happened between her and Naruto she was likely not going to have anything like that happen.

"I… promise" said Sakura as she slowly contemplated what that promise was going to require of her. And if Naruto ever found out that she knew…

"Hinata… just please understand, something happened to Naruto that caused him to do what he did without him realizing it. I'm going to find out what happened, I also promise you that. I-I'm sorry for this news" Sakura said as she slowly got up from the bed to leave. She wanted to go off to be alone and cry.

_'something happened to Naruto that caused him to do what he did without him realizing it'_ played back in Hinata's mind as she laid on the bed crying as Sakura left her room quickly as she watched her go. Hinata couldn't fathom how that could be true, but she wished it was as she wanted to die at the thought of Naruto doing that to her purposefully.

She continued to sob again, as she was still coming to terms with the answer to why she had missed her period, and had suffered a lot of throwing up and lethargy lately. She couldn't imagine how she was going to tell her father this. And instead of thinking of dying, she now had someone to live for as she was now carrying a child.

_Sakura's Hospital Office…_

Sakura sat down in her office chair facing the door which she closed and locked.

She just stared straight ahead feeling numb at the news that she just learned and had to deliver to Hinata. Naruto was going to have a baby, and it was something she could of prevented at that time she performed the rape kit on Hinata.

But she thought to Naruto having a child. And she couldn't honestly answer if she could deny him that, it was something that he wanted more than being a Hokage.

But now that they were in the Ni-Yurei, that group was going to have to be more important to him than his own child.

**_'Oh Naruto…'_** she thought of him as she felt both sad for him and sad for herself. She put her head down on the office desk and started to sob as she didn't know what else to do. Her feelings of pain and hurt were too much for her.

She had to look after her teammate, and work to clear his name. Hopefully she could amend the situation between Hinata and Naruto as much as possible, he at least deserved to see his child at some point. She just hoped he would be able to handle it, and not give up on them as she was aware of the 'enforcement' part of their Ni-Yurei oath.


	12. Chapter 12 - Endure

Naruto laid awake in his hospital looking at the ceiling while he idly heard the passing's of patience and hospital staff alike as the world continued to go on around him. He thought of what Danzo had said to him about Sakura following orders and tried to put that together with the injuries he sustained during his interrogation.

_'She followed orders'_

**_"YOU SEE KIT… YOU ARE WORSE TO YOURSELVES THAN ANY OF US DEMONS"_** rumbled in his mind.

_'I… I don't know why Sakura did what she did… but she had to have a good reason, I can't believe that she would do it against me to only hurt me'_ he replied back in his mind as he visualized the demon sitting in its cage peering at him somewhat disinterestedly.

**_"SHE HURT YOU… ARE YOU SURE YOU CAN TRUST HER?"_** retorted the nine tailed fox.

_'She took the oath with me, to me….'_ he said aloud in his mind to no one in particular.

**_"SHE ALSO TOOK YOUR EYESIGHT… OUR KIND LOOKS AFTER EACH OTHER, WE DON'T DESTROY EACH OTHER…"_** the Kyuubi mused.

While Naruto had never seen the Kyuubi around the other demons, he could imagine the demon foxes protecting each other as he had often observed in nature during his journeys outside the village.

**_"SHE CALLED YOU A MONSTER… THAT TIME…"_** the Kyuubi warned.

_'I deserved that for what happened to Hinata…'_ was all he could respond with.

**_"ARE YOU GOING TO PROVE HER RIGHT?"_** the Kyuubi asked.

_'NO' _Naruto interjected in his mind immediately._ 'I am beginning to understand now that what I have gotten myself into is something that I was not prepared for. But I need to adapt, and I need to… endure.'_

There was that word….

_'Endure'_

_Flashback…_

Naruto laid on a large leaf on Mount Myoboku reading his book given to him by Jiraiya.

_'Tales of the Gutsy Ninja'_ was imprinted on the book. Naruto prized this book above all the other material he had read as it was given to him by his sensei of which it was his sensei's first real work at writing.

It was the tail of a ninja with the same name as him as the ninja journeyed through the world with his overall goal of ending the "curse" of hatred. The endless cycle of war, conflict and hatred that always permeated through written and recorded history.

Naruto dreamed of a world where there was true peace and that people could understand each other and never have to fight again.

He latched on to the protagonist of the book, and the characters refusal to give up, even in the end. He would never give up and vowed to break the "curse". The curse Naruto felt, was very real and in this world.

And to never give up, to him, meant to… endure.

He had to endure for his friends.

He had to endure for the citizens of his village.

He had to endure for the people in the world, in the far off and seemingly out of reach goal of finding lasting peace and understanding between people.

And he above all else, had to endure for… her.

_End Flashback…_

**_"YOU THINK YOU CAN REALLY ENDURE IT ALL?"_** the Kyuubi asked as even he was not sure of Naruto being able to do that.

_'I must not give up, and I must always keep hold of my belief and trust in those that are close to me'_ he replied back as really being a ninja meant to make sacrifices, even ones he did not want to make.

**_"HOW CAN YOU THINK LIKE THAT?"_** the Kyuubi turned his head to look directly at Naruto with his full attention.

_'The same way I believe you and me can someday be… friends… Kurama…'_ Naruto replied back as he looked directly into the Kyuubi's eyes.

The Kyuubi stayed motionless staring at Naruto as Naruto's form faded away. Where did he learn his name from? And why did he have a flash in his mind of the sages' form with rinnegan eyes looking directly back at him. The power in Naruto's stare was just like that of the sage of the six paths; powerful, confident and above all else… honest.

A horizontally slit eye opened as Naruto came back to the focus of the real world as he laid in his bed. He often enjoyed slipping into sage mode when he was resting due to the feelings of completion it gave him being one with Nature.

Naruto wouldn't lie to himself, it pained him to know what Sakura had did to him, but it also helped to connect to nature, something much more powerful and something that distracted him from that knowledge that bothered him.

He was bound to Sakura, and herself to him, he would have to adapt and trust in her despite the situation. He would have to walk his own ideology and simply… endure.

Naruto looked back into his own body as he could feel the difference in his own chakra.

_'Her chakra is flowing in me'_ he thought.

He held his hands up as he looked over them with his lone eye.

_'Her blood flows in my veins'_ he added.

She is like family to me as the brief feelings of happiness washed over his pain from his previous thoughts. It was very conflicting and confusing emotions that ran through Naruto as he tried to process it all. It was at the very least… complicated.

But while he thought of that he couldn't help but feel the stare of someone on him along with a feeling of something pulling his attention off into a different direction as well.

He adjusted his head to allow him to see off into the direction of where he felt the stare coming from.

_'Those lavender eyes'_ he thought as his breath hitched in his throat as he looked at Hinata who was standing in the door way looking in directly at him.

"….." he couldn't bring himself to say anything as his lip twitched as he was trying to force the waves of sadness that washed over him at seeing her. He was holding back crying, or at least trying to as best he could.

_'Is… he about to cry'_ thought Hinata as she looked at him as he laid in bed.

_'His eye…'_ she thought as she also immediately noticed his patch. She subtly activated her Byakugan look over his eye and she was startled to see that it was missing.

_'What happened to him…'_ she thought as she look at his form as she saw a tear roll down the side of his face as it originally appeared from under his eye patch.

It pained her to see him like this, but it also pained Hinata deeply as she still was very aware of how things happened.

She wanted to be angry with him, and a part of her wanted to walk up to him and harm him as best as she could.

But she was carrying his child now in her body. This was the man she had loved for so long, and now was carrying a part of him inside her.

_'I… I have to keep myself under control… if nothing else… for my baby'_ she thought sadly as she only dared to guess of the situation her child would have to deal with between the child's parents.

There was no way their relationship could be salvaged, that Hinata knew. But she had to be there for her child now.

The child was innocent, and she could not turn her anger on the child, despite what Naruto had done.

A part of her wanted to tell Naruto the news she had just recently learned from Sakura. But she couldn't bring herself to talking to Naruto. She could see that he was in a bad state; it looked like he had been through hell. She had never seen him get a permanent injury that hadn't healed before; something bad had happened to him was all she could surmise.

"….." Hinata stayed quite as the two looked at each other without words being spoken. Hinata could tell that Naruto was sorry, she could see it on his face. But her heart also would not let her give in to him, at one time she loved him so dearly and she thought he could do no wrong, until that night happened.

Hinata turned around to leave after sparing Naruto a last glance and left without a word.

_'I'm sorry Hinata'_ was all Naruto could say in his mind as he idly wondered why she would be in the hospital of all places as he stared at the place she previously occupied in the room entrance.

Naruto thought quietly about Hinata while at the same time continuing to be bothered by a feeling.

_'That way'_ he thought as he finally gave into his nagging feeling as he looked in the opposite side of the room and down.

When he did that his lone eye widened as in his mind's eye he could see the form of Sakura getting up from what looked like her desk.

He could clearly make out her chakra and her body as he concentrated on her. He noticed when he did not focus on her, he could only make out her form, but it was completely obvious where she was generally. Her presence in his mind's eye was overlaid on top of his vision. It was as if he was seeing where she was and as he completely stopped focusing on her he could still see her.

_'What is this?'_ he thought as he watched Sakura seemingly walk out of her office and down a hall and continue up the stairs to the floor they were on. He couldn't see the building, but he could see anything she was doing.

_'I can see her, even without seeing her directly'_ he thought as he tried to understand the implications.

**_"ISN'T IT OBVIOUS KIT?"_** mumbled in his mind.

_'What? How can I see her?'_ he asked back hoping the demon would have an explanation.

**_"YOU SHARE THE SAME CHAKRA NOW… DON'T YOU SEE YOUR OWN CHAKRA WHEN YOU ARE IN YOUR NATURE MODE?"_** the Kyuubi prodded.

_'Y-Yea'_ he responded as that did make sense to him and it was true as far as how he could see himself and his clones like that when in nature mode. He had not quite realized that before.

**_"SOMETIMES I REALLY HAVE NO IDEA HOW YOU CAN BE A NINJA…" _**the Kyuubi bellowed in his mind somewhat amused as Naruto tried to ignore the Kyuubi's laughing at his expense albeit, he would admit it sometimes seemed true.

He watched as Sakura walked up to his room as she paused in the door frame as she looked at him.

Sakura immediately noticed that Naruto was awake this time, and furthermore was in his sage mode as he looked at her. Her immediate thoughts were somewhat derailed as she wanted to talk to Naruto as she knew he had questions about their situation. He had to.

"H-Hey Naruto… are you okay?" she asked.

"I can see you…" he responded which somewhat confused her.

"Are you having problems with your left eye?" she asked wondering if he had some vision issues that made him say something odd like that.

"No… when you walked up here from your office, I could see you the entire way…" he said back.

"What?" she asked confused.

"It's exactly like I said, I watched you walk all the way up here…" he added.

"You mean, like…. looking through the walls?" she asked completely baffled.

"I… guess… When I was in sage mode before I could see myself and my clones, it looks like that. I could see you as clearly as I normally would see them. I just never noticed I could see them from areas that I couldn't directly… or um… physically see them" he spoke as he tried to work it out himself.

"O-Oh" she added back as she could somewhat understand what he was saying. She filed away that knowledge for later as she had to ask him if he had held any resentment to her. When she awoke earlier from falling asleep in her office, she thought back to the interrogation.

It really did bother her regarding what she had done to Naruto. Internally she was struggling with it. A part of her was disgusted with herself, while the other part had to steel itself with the understanding that she did it to save his life.

The only thing she for sure on, was her hatred for Danzo. He made her do that to Naruto. It was obvious to her he was driving some kind of wedge in between them as he had made her swear to not tell Naruto why she had done what she did; otherwise he threated to kill both of them with the enforcement jutsu.

It was certainly clear, that Danzo was not on their side. As for Tsunade, she was unsure of, but at this point Tsunade looked like a bright…safe light compared to Danzo.

"Are you okay Naruto?" she asked again as Naruto looked at her.

"Why did you do it?" he asked.

"…I can't tell you that…" she responded.

"You can't, or you won't?" he retorted as he had to try to get a better understanding form her vague response.

"Can't…" she replied back as she looked at him honestly.

_'She can't tell me for some reason, something is forcing her not to…'_ he thought to himself as he felt somewhat better about her. If she couldn't tell him, she had to have a reason.

"Let me guess… you can't tell me why?" he added figuring it would go nowhere.

"Your right… I can't" she replied back somewhat sadly. She hated this line of questioning as she felt like it made her seem bad to Naruto and she worried he could resent her.

"Just know… I did it for you, that's all I can say…" she offered as Naruto focused back on her when she said that.

_'She did it… for me…'_ he thought as he looked at her face and he could see no lie looking back at him.

"Okay" he said after a short pause. He had to trust her as he recalled his conversation with Kurama.

"Naruto?" she asked as she saw she gained his attention again.

"Do you hate me… for what I did?" she slowly asked as she worried what she would hear.

"No… For all the time I have known you Sakura, I know that you wouldn't do something intentionally to harm me…" he offered although he had to admit to himself that was partially a lie as what happened shook his trust in her down to its core. He couldn't just forget that she damaged him as he saw it every moment he used his remaining eye.

"I have to hope that you did it for a very good reason" he added as she looked at him trying to read his body language as his eye sight focused more on his bed than anything else as he stated his thoughts.

It pained her to see him like this, but it did bring comfort to her to hear those words.

_'He has to hope?'_ she thought as she hung on the first parts of his words he had added at his last words to her.

_'He doesn't quite trust me…'_ she thought sadly as she admitted to herself she would probably feel the same way if the tables were turned.

"Sakura…" sounded gaining Sakura's attention.

"I'd like to not speak of what happened between us again… We can't let that come between us, we've got much more important things to worry about." Naruto lamented as he thought over their situation.

"O-Ok, Naruto" Sakura said somewhat relieved although just sweeping that under the rug was also not something she thought was a good approach either. But Naruto was right, they had to stay united for each other and the village.

**_'TAP TAP TAP'_** sounded on the window in the room causing both of them to look in its direction. A messenger bird was pecking at the window. Sakura walked over to the window and opened it grabbing the note from the bird.

Naruto started to get out of bed and put on his attire while Sakura unrolled the message to read it as she glanced over at Naruto as he began to change from the drab hospital gown into his signature black getup.

_'Okami,_

_You are to report to the Hokage's office in a week's time, be prepared to begin your duties…_

_Danzo'_

"We are going to need to leave the village in a week, so we better get prepared for that Naruto" Sakura stated as she handed him the note so he could look it over before he charged it with chakra causing it to burn up.

"Okami... that's an odd name seeing how I carry a fox" he said aloud as he thought of their team designation.

"We'll need to get some outfits made that a more stealth focused for our missions Naruto. We should stop by Tenten-san's shop" she added gaining his attention as he put on his black cloak.

"Yea, we can put our designation on the back of our outfits" Naruto added as he agreed with the idea and as he thought about them having _'Okami'_ on the back of their attire in Kanji.

"We can stick with your black and orange pattern's Naruto…" Sakura offered as she thought about how she liked how Naruto looked.

"Actually I was thinking of changing it to a dark red to represent the chakra we both contain now… the Kyuubi's chakra…" he said somewhat lowly as he looked at Sakura.

"Do you feel it?" he asked her.

"Yes… definitely. I feel like I have more chakra than I could ever use. It feels ridiculously powerful, I can see now why you fight the way you do" she responded as she held her hands in front of her flexing them for added effect.

"We're going to need to work on our fighting styles to better accommodate each other now and adapt to sharing our chakra together… I wonder if you can use sage mode…" he shared openly as his thoughts shifted to making sure she could properly utilize her capabilities. If she could now use his traits; to him that meant utilizing a lot of chakra, wind nature, Kyuubi mode, and even sage mode.

_'I wonder if she could really use all my abilities and likewise if I can use hers'_ he thought.

"Yea, we really have to explore that Naruto. Would you be willing to help me with that?" she asked hopefully.

"Of course Sakura, we need to get better for each other" he offered immediately cause her to get a big smile. She knew he relied on her, and this was a blindingly obvious nugget of confirmation to that. He didn't stifle her like Sasuke would, he embraced her and tried to make her better and she absolutely loved that about him. And the things he knew were not little things, but jutsu's and power that only he wielded in the village. Certainly a very unique set of capabilities similar to their previous teammate who deserted them.

"Thanks Naruto" she said honestly to him and in a tone that made Naruto know it was meant especially for him.

He put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed lightly in affirmation as he briefly wore a smile on the side of his mouth before he started to walk out of the room.

"Get everything you need Sakura, I'll come over to your house in a couple days so we can get everything organized together and spend our last bit of time here in the village training" he said as he looked over his shoulder to her as he was leaving the room.

She nodded in acknowledgement as she smiled feeling a new wave of emotions coming over her. Soon enough she would be leaving the village to start their new lives together in the Ni-Yurei and despite all they have had to deal with up to this point, it felt tremendously empowering to her. They would be together out there working to better the village; just the two of them.


	13. Chapter 13 - Cloud Gazer

_A couple days later…_

Naruto walked along the village slowly as he was thinking to himself. He spent the last couple days after getting out of the hospital thinking about the situation at hand. He and Sakura were going to need to start traveling the land and get the spy network back up.

They would need to be mobile and ready to move at once as they got orders from Danzo. They would both need to be ready as they would be on their own.

Naruto reached up and rubbed the area that was missing something very important to him. His hiate. It was such an alien feeling to Naruto to not be able to wear it. He stopped along a bridge leading to a park and leaned over the rail looking into the water.

_'Even the nukenin get to have hiate, we are identity-less. We are bound to Konoha and yet we are ghosts to them'_ he thought idly as he watched some fish swimming below in the water.

He looked back as the people walked by with the occasional woman looking his direction.

_'This is what we need to protect, these people, these people that believe in me'_ he thought as he remembered to just after saving the village from Pein and their welcoming party gathered in what remained of the village as Kakashi-sensei carried him back.

_'I need to see him'_ he thought back to Kakashi-sensei as the last time he really got to talk to his sensei was back after his major fight.

He thought back to his fight with Sasuke and when he had slashed Sasuke's hiate effectively denouncing his brother from the village.

_'Did walking your path feel like this… Sasuke?'_ he thought to himself as the feelings of leaving his village, it's people and his friends behind seemed like a sobering, and saddening thought.

While he knew the Uchiha would never dare show it publically, Sasuke had emotions. He was not emotionless. It took emotions to drive him to leave the village in the first place. Although to what extent, Naruto could not know; that Naruto recognized as he thought about it.

"Excuse me… Uzumaki-kun" sounded from behind him in a young woman's voice.

He turned around to see a young brunette ninja with her hair parted nicely and shoulder length. She had nice brown eyes and wore a relatively modest but battle ready ninja ensemble that some kunoichi wear. Mainly with fishnets being worn around her extremities while her main attire was black and blue accentuated.

He looked down to her blouse and her knee high boots which caused images of Sakura to explode into his mind causing him to look back up immediately into the young woman's eyes.

"I'm sorry, may I help you miss…?" he asked fishing for her name.

"Ano… Kato Fumiko" she replied as she bowed which Naruto returned in response.

"I'm sorry was I in your way Fumiko-san?" he asked.

"No, I was just wondering if you were going to the Kanto Matsuri in few days?" she replied.

"Oh…" he started as he thought about it. He had overlooked the Matsuri that was coming up. He always used to go as a child to see the lanterns and the glow they created at night. But with everything that was going on, he had completely forgotten about any festivals.

For Naruto, festivals where a way to get out and see the village without running generally into issues with the villagers. It seemed to him like the few times as he grew up, when they wouldn't shun him was during the Matsuri.

"…I haven't even had a chance to even think about going, but yea, I think I'll be there" he replied as he thought more about it.

"Would you like to go with me?" Fumiko offered hopefully as she was secretly dying to get a chance to meet the village hero and spend some time with him. Her group of friends always fawned over him, and she struck gold when she noticed him as she walked alone that day doing errands in the village.

This chance encounter was something she couldn't wait to tell her friends about and she would just have to throw her name out there to him. She figured he probably had a lot of women asking him; but she would try.

"..Um, I think I may have to get back to you on that Fumiko-san" he replied as he bowed.

"I am sorry I can't give you an answer at this time" he added as he thought to Sakura and she would likely be the one he went with.

"Oh, o-okay no problem, if you'd like to here is my address" she offered a small piece of paper to him with her number as she bowed.

"Thank you for saving us Naruto-kun" she added as she bowed again and smiled at him.

"Thank you Fumiko-san" he bowed back as he wore a real big smile and shut his eyes. This particular moment hit him somewhat hard unexpectedly. He was just earlier having an internal war with his emotions, but with that one thanking from her, all of that was immediately wiped out to him.

_'I like this feeling'_ he thought as the young ninja had showed her gratitude to him for what he had done for the village.

He watched the young ninja as she walked off as she turned around and waved one last time to which he returned the gesture.

_'Thank you'_ it amazed him how a simple two words could make him feel. And how it could steel his feelings to think that what he was doing for the village was worthwhile.

Maybe not all things are bad with having to make sacrifices for his village.

He still glanced at the retreating ninja's boots as she walked away, and he giggle somewhat internally at the thoughts it made him recall regarding Sakura's boots and the situations it got the two into.

He walked off to the park feeling better as he thought about his random encounter with the young woman and how it made him feel.

_In the Konoha park…_

Naruto was lost in his thoughts as he slowly walked around with no real destination. He was just taking the time to think things over. He was thinking to try to predict how his travels would be with Sakura.

He slowly walked and stopped for a moment as he looked up into the sky admiring the clouds.

"Troublesome…" he heard come from beneath him as he angled his head to look down at the source of the familiar voice.

"Hey there pineapple" he offered to the ninja laying down beneath him.

He saw Shikamaru's forehead get a slight tick as he puffed away at a cigarette as he laid on the ground.

Naruto knew he hated the nickname he had always given him.

"…" Shikamaru just looked at Naruto from down below as he focused on his right eye patch.

"Your standing on my hand…" Shikamaru finally spoke.

Naruto looked down to see his right foot was indeed standing on Shika's fingers on his right hand down below.

"Sorry about that, I didn't see you Shika…" he said, which was true as he hadn't noticed Shikamaru laying down below as he was on his right side in Naruto's blind spot.

"I see that now… what happened to your eye?" Shikamaru asked.

"Training accident…" Naruto responded swiftly and naturally as he subtly tried to lie to his friend. It was obvious he couldn't tell him the real reason as to what happened to his eye. It would generate way too many questions of which none of them Naruto could answer to Shikamaru.

"Really now… must have been some accident" Shikamaru replied as he sharpened his eyes at Naruto.

Naruto knew that Shikamaru was onto him. He knew that stare from the pineapple head whenever he saw it used on their enemies when they fought together.

"Yea, you try taking a face full of exploding rocks when you drive a rasengan through a boulder inches from your face" he quipped smoothly.

"Tsck…" Shikamaru replied as he shuddered at the thought. That seemed like it could cause that kind of damage. But to Naruto?

"Why didn't the Kyuubi heal it?" he asked with even more interest. Shikamaru never of Naruto not recovering from wounds received in battle. He thought it was some sort of bloodline for the longest time until it was eventually revealed to them about Naruto's role as a Jinchuriki.

"He's teaching me a lesson" Naruto revealed cryptically as that wasn't a lie. It was nice for a brief moment to Naruto to not have to try to lie to Shikamaru.

"What?" the confused ninja lying below asked.

"A story for another day" the blonde shinobi promised to his friend as the two looked at each other.

"So, Cyclops, what are you doing here?" Shikamaru asked deciding to drop the questions for now as it was clear Naruto was not really up to offer any answers. That was interesting in itself to Shikamaru. Usually Naruto was very open to him.

Naruto just frowned at the nickname as he replied "just found myself here doing some thinking. Apparently it was in the clouds for me to come step on your foot".

The two ninja's continued their slight stare off until Shikamaru started to giggle and then laugh below dropping his cigarette.

"I guess, never thought I would see a day I could really irk you with a nickname Cyclops. It's my day it seems" Shikamaru mused as he smiled from laughing.

"And mine to…" said a feminine and raised voice off behind Naruto causing Shikamaru to look to the offender as he had a clear view from down below.

There stood Shikamaru's blonde Kunoichi friend. Ino was standing away from the two as she looked over in their direction, and particular at Naruto who was facing away from her.

"I've got a bone to pick with you cheeks" she added as she crossed her arms feigning being upset with Naruto.

She had been looking for Naruto as she had not seen him in roughly over a month after their erotic escapades that she knew she wanted to explore with him.

She had been ready to give Sakura a run for her money in winning Naruto's heart for him to only disappear it seemed.

"Uh oh" escaped Naruto's mouth involuntarily and loudly.

_"WHAT WAS THAT!?"_ shouted the purple clad kunoichi who heard his involuntary slip.

"It was nice knowing you Cyclops" the ninja beneath Naruto offered to his friend as he knew what was about to come next from knowing Ino since they were little.

Ino immediately dashed in ready to plant a blonde haymaker on the target of her anger… Naruto.

_"YOU SHOULD BE HAPPY TO SEE ME!"_ she shouted as she poured all her strength and twisting hip and momentum into the punch to try to maximize its power.

"Indeed pineapple" Naruto responded as he looked down to Shikamaru who had looked back up at Naruto the moment he heard his nickname.

_'He's in sage mode, why?' _Shikamaru thought as he noticed that feature about Naruto when he looked back to him.

**_"KAWARIMI NO JUTSU"_** whispered Naruto as he engaged the jutsu as he looked at his target, Shikamaru who wore a bewildered look on his face back at the sage.

**_'POOF!'_** sounded as Ino was a millimeter away from connecting her fist to the back of Naruto's head.

**_'SMACK'_** sounded as Ino proceeded to deck Shikamaru in the face who was forcefully switched with Naruto as Naruto laid beneath the blonde Kunoichi as she attacked.

The crumpled form of Shikamaru rolled away from Ino's punch as his hair broke free of its tied up form that gave Shikamaru his trademark pineapple top; as it was no thoroughly ruined with his hair all over the place messed up.

"I'm sorry Shika!" Ino shouted as she started to run towards him realizing that she had just laid out one of her best friends.

Naruto, who was lying on the ground elevated his body with his hands and spun his leg around just missing Ino's foot as she ran to Shikamaru's aide.

**_'WHACK'_** sound as Ino foot was still hit by Naruto's sage mode which extended his form due to his nature chakra and the use of that ability through his frog katas.

Ino firmly face planted after that into the grass that was below them as her leg was kicked from under her making her lose her balance.

"Oof!" she let out as she landed and immediately rolled over to get up.

"That's wasn't nice lanky" came Naruto's voice immediately as he appeared over her with his hand on her shoulder under her neck as he crouched over her.

She hadn't seen him come up, he had just appeared.

Naruto had her pinned as he lightly tapped her neck indicating that it was a pretty much a fatal position for Ino.

"Fine… you got me" offered Ino and she huffed a piece of her hair out of the way, irked that he still called her lanky.

"Can you check on him?" she asked as Naruto obliged and got off Ino and walked over to Shika who was just starting to sit up.

"Your head still all there?" Naruto joked as he looked at the expression on Shikamaru's face laughing to himself.

"Y-Yea… Cyclops, what the hell did you do that for?" Shikamaru said he tried to shake out to the stars in his vision from Ino's hit.

_'Here it comes'_ Naruto thought as he watched in his mind's eye as Ino had got up and started to throw a kick at Naruto's back this time as it was obvious Ino was trying to be quiet about it.

**_ 'SMACK'_** sounded as Ino's leg went through Naruto and instead connected with Shika's face again sending him back down to the ground.

"W-What the heck!" Ino shouted as she realized what she hit, and that her leg was through Naruto's body.

"That also wasn't nice lanky…" Naruto said as he moved aside out of her _'leg'_ as he looked back at Ino.

"What is that you just did?" she asked dumbfounded.

"It's an ability I have been developing as I found out I could use it when I'm in my sage mode" he said as he let her in on his little bit of knowledge on it.

"I-I can't hit you?" she asked dejectedly as she also tried to slap him which went through him.

"Only if I want you to…" he replied looking at her with a stare that she noticed and got a weird feeling about.

"W-Where have you been?" she asked as she tried to clear the air between them.

"I'm sorry; I had gotten myself tied up in some stuff… It looks like I'm going to be having to leave the village pretty soon to go on missions" he said to her as he felt he needed to at least let her know what was coming up.

"W-What? You're leaving the village? For how long?" she asked now more worried as the thought of Naruto was something she never really considered about the village. He was always there and always causing trouble or at least fun things to do.

"I'm not sure lanky… It can be for a long time. I'm part of a group that has to operate abroad now…" he opened up.

"The Ni-Yurei" she whispered in understanding as it dawned on her he must have gotten in. She shuddered at the thought of what he might have gone through as she heard rumors. And that hard look he gave her just earlier was out of character for him. He seemed a little different to her she noticed as she thought about it.

Naruto just nodded to her giving her his affirmation.

"When do you have to leave?" she asked again.

"I have about half the week remaining before I have to go." he replied as he looked at her noticing her dejected form. He thought about what they did together the last time they were really with each other. Those memories played back in his mind full force as he also thought about having to leave her for the group.

"What's wrong lanky?" he asked her as he could picture where her thoughts were going.

"I don't know when I'll see you again…" she admitted which to her was a big thing; she never really talked about her interests like that. To her Naruto was different, he was someone that was very unique to her and he treated her differently and she liked it. While a tiny part of her was being competitive with Sakura for Naruto's attention, the majority of her was doing it for herself and her own interests in Naruto.

"Y-Yea… but I promise when I am in the village I'll come see you" he said gaining her attention back on him.

"You mean that?" she asked as she smiled.

"Yea, besides, someone needs to keep you in check lanky" he offered as walked over to her and put his arm around her.

"Pfft, you can't handle me" Ino demurred as she ran her hand down her side giving herself some extra kick by swinging her hip out a little.

"I recall pinning you pretty good against a tree last time…" Naruto said as he looked directly into her eyes as he held on to her.

"Why don't you finish what you started cheek's, I was left wanting that night…" she whispered to him huskily as she recalled that particular thing that she learned that turned him on immediately.

"You need to go help your partner in crime over there" he said as he looked over to Shikamaru's sleeping form.

"Why do you got to ruin the mood?" she complained as her thoughts were thoroughly derailed by Naruto.

"Just looking out for my friends is all" he quipped as he reached down behind her and lightly grabbed her butt causing her to look over at him surprised.

"Oh, what the hell ever, you are teasing me damnit!" she yelled at him irked that he could get to her like that.

"Possibly…" he said sagely as his lone eye squinted at her.

"Oh my god, what the hell happened to your eye!?" she practically screamed at him as she couldn't comprehend how she overlooked that.

"It fell out?" he offered jokingly looking at her as he kinda laughed at the question. He couldn't believe it took her that long to notice it.

"R-real… wait, no what really happened damnit!" she yelled as she slapped him on his chest and she also noticed that her hit connected with his body this time.

"I wasn't careful and I ended up sending rock bits into my face with an ill-placed rasengan" he let out hoping she would believe it.

"O-Oh…" she said as she looked over his face and placed her hand on his face thumbing over his eye patch.

"Does it hurt?" she asked.

"A little from time to time, but not much, I'm getting used to it. Sometimes when I'm in sage mode like this it does kind of hurt and it's kinda bugging me right now but I just ignore it". Which was true, Naruto had noticed that his right eye socket did hurt while he was in sage mode although he couldn't place why. He'd have to ask Sakura about that.

"You let me hit you.." she said randomly as she thought back to her playful slap.

"Yea, I deserved that one" he said as he laughed lightly.

Ino strongly poked him with a single finger as if testing to see if he was solid, or real from what it looked like to Naruto.

"Ow, what was that for?" he asked her as he rubbed the spot she just prodded.

"Just testing you cheeks" she said as she looked at him and smiled coyly.

"For wh-?" he said bewildered.

**_'SMACK'_** sounded as Shikamaru planted a haymaker on him out of nowhere.

Naruto laid on the ground laughing as he realized what had happened. Those two, he underestimated them. They were always known to have good teamwork, and they just got him back in spades.

"You deserved that one Cyclops" Shikamaru said as he rubbed his fist that connected with Naruto's head.

"True…" was all Naruto could muse as he still laughed to himself on the ground.

"What's this Cheek's and Lanky thing? Are you two dating or what?" he asked between the two ninja.

"What's it to you?" shot from Ino as she looked at him with narrow eyes.

"No…" shot from the ground with Naruto.

_"WHAT WAS THAT!?"_ shouted Ino who looked at Naruto incredulously and pointed.

_"WHY YOU!"_ shouted Ino as she launched down on the laying form of Naruto with another punch aimed for his gut.

**_'POOF!'_** sounded as Naruto and Shikamaru were switched with a subtle kawarimi no jutsu that Naruto had triggered.

**_'THUD'_**

"Oof!" was all Shikamaru could say as the air was forced from his lungs from the hit from Ino.

Naruto was already running off as he looked behind him seeing the form of Ino slamming her fist into Shikamaru as he bolted away from the area laughing.

Naruto had needed good laughs like that after what he had gone thru. This was definitely a welcome break to him as he smiled thinking about it as he ran.

_"NARUTO!"_ he heard Ino screech as she had realized the switch he had made at Shika's expense.

He hastened his retreat into the woods of the park to head off to find a certain pinkette to ask about the upcoming Matsuri as he could hear the screaming Ino behind him as she remained back with her crumpled friend.

_At Sakura's house…_

**_'KNOCK KNOCK'_** sounded as Sakura walked over to open her door.

"Naruto…" she said as she had opened the door to the person knocking.

"Hey Sakura, hey I got a question to ask you.." he said as he looked around as he scanned the area to try to make sure Ino wasn't coming after him. He was even trying to look abroad in his sage mode and look at the signatures of the people but he couldn't make heads or tails of who was who, but none of them seemed to be bee-lining to him; so he passed it off as being safe.

"What is it? Is something wrong?" she asked as she noticed it looked like he was look out for somebody as he was slightly breathing hard from his run away from the park.

"N-No, I just kinda pissed off Ino haha" he said as he laughed.

"Why?" she asked as alarm bells were going off in her head.

_'Did Ino-pig try something with him?'_ Sakura asked herself as she felt some competitive anger start to rile her up.

"Uh, kinda long story at the moment, but hey, do you got any plans for the Matsuri?" he said as he dismissed her questions. He was here to ask the questions and run in case Ino was still looking for him.

"Uh….maybe…" Sakura revealed as she thought of the Matsuri.

"Wait.. maybe?" Naruto said as he looked back at Sakura this time his attention completely on her as this was definitely news to him. He thought he would ask her to the Matsuri; he was originally going to ask Ino, but thought he should try her first.

"Yea… I kind of lost a bet to shishou and I have to go to the Matsuri with some politician's son" she let out slowly as she thought about it. She was really starting to get annoyed with her sensei right now for making her do this.

"Like… a date?" Naruto clarified.

"Y-Yea.. I guess.." she said as she didn't quiet want to answer that question. She didn't want to put Naruto off, but she had to be honest with him. The politician's son would most likely think of it as a date.

Naruto was getting some odd feelings in his chest. He felt a little jealous of the politician's son and upset with Sakura as he thought she would go with him. He hadn't quite planned for this.

"Were you going to ask me?" Sakura asked gaining his attention as she saw him in thought.

"Yea.. I didn't plan on you having other plans" he said as he looked back at her.

"But… there goes that plan I guess" he said somewhat dejectedly.

"I'm sorry Naruto, Shishou has me having to do this, if that wasn't the case I'd go with you…" she said as she tried to make him feel better.

"Ah, its' fine, I'll just go ask somebody else" he said as he gave in to that idea. For some reason Naruto was feeling more jealousy about whomever was taking Sakura with them to the Matsuri. They hadn't fought together and almost died together with her. It bothered him.

"Um, who are you going to ask then?" she queried as she had to know.

"Me" sounded the familiar voice of Ino as she appeared down the side away from Naruto and Sakura as she walked along the balcony area to Sakura's apartment entrance.

"W-Wait, are you going to take Ino?" Sakura said as she looked back at Naruto now herself starting to get jealous at the situation.

"Yea, you have other plans." he said as he looked over to Ino.

_'Ino-pig'_ Sakura though menacingly as she seethed at the thought of the two of them together. She knew Ino had it out for Naruto and here she was thrown into a situation where she was practically handing Naruto to Ino on a platter. And she could do nothing about it, as saying no to her Shishou wasn't an option.

"And here I was thinking I was going to have to castrate you cheeks for what you pulled earlier" Ino said affectionately as she walked up to Naruto and put her hand on his should lightly tapping it.

"Cheeks?" Sakura said as she stared at Ino's hand like she could burn it off with her vision.

"Yea it's my little nickname I gave him, ya know to claim my property" she said as Ino put her arm around Naruto and looked at Sakura smiling.

_"INO-PIG"_ seethed Sakura.

"Ugh- well I don't have time to be part of this, I gotta get going you two" said Naruto both of the Kunoichi that looked like they were getting ready to have an impromptu battle royale.

"It's okay Naruto, there's nothing to worry about between us" Sakura said menacingly as she looked at Ino.

"What time do I pick you up for the Matsuri Ino?" Naruto asked of which Ino noticed he hadn't called her Lanky as she looked over at him.

"Seven, any idea what we are going to do?" she asked him loving the situation as she was rubbing it in Sakura's face.

"Wear something nice" was all he offered as he waived at both of them as he departed.

The two kunoichi watched him walk off and make sure he was out of sight.

"What the hell Ino-pig?" Sakura spit venomously at her.

"What's the big deal, you have to go on a date and kiss some politician's son's ass?" she shot back in her unique Ino tone.

"I can't get out of that, and you know it!" Sakura growled out at her.

"Yea, you get to finally go on your first real date and its some pre-arranged thing. While I get to go with Naruto and give him some special attention" she said as she winked at Sakura.

"You better not even…" Sakura let out icily as her eyes narrowed at Ino.

"So suck it" Ino replied back in a sing-song fashion as she waved at Sakura and walked off clearly loving the situation.

Ino knew that she would have been in trouble if Naruto had gone with Sakura to the Matsuri as Sakura had often told Ino about her dream date. And yet it was playing out exactly how Sakura would probably never have wanted to and pretty much setup Ino nicely to spend time with Naruto.

"N-No, you…" Sakura said as her voice went lower and she got quiet.

"Oh I will" Ino shot back as she rounded the corner and disappeared behind it as she waved back at Sakura.

What she missed was Sakura's face changing to one of sadness and hurt as Sakura realized what Ino and Naruto might do on their date, her and Ino's originally friendly banter between each other going a little too far.

_The next day at Ino's flower shop…_

The door to Ino's shop let out its ring as a customer walked in causing Ino to look over.

"Oh hey cheeks!" replied Ino as the object of her thoughts came walking in.

"Hey lanky, how are you?" he asked.

"Better now that you're here" she said as she smiled.

"What can I help you with? Or did you just come here to see me?" she prodded.

"I actually came to pick up some flowers for someone" he revealed as this kind of surprised Ino as this was his first time really coming to her flower shop.

"Oh, what occasion are they for? I can help you get the right ones" she asked going into her customer assistance mode. Naruto was not used to this side of her as it was more proper and he smiled at it.

"It's for someone that I have to apologize to, they asked me to attend something and I have to tell them no" he added.

"Why don't you just go apologize to them in person?" she asked.

"I am, I just wanted to give her flowers as an additional apology" he said as he spoke his thoughts.

"Her?" Ino responded not really liking where this was now going.

"Someone asked me to the Matsuri, but I am going with you and I want to thank her for asking me though" he said.

"Oh, do you like this girl?" she started to prod as her warning system was going off for competition.

"Not that I know of, but it was just nice of her to ask me. I never really got asked like that before, and I want to thank her even though I have already made plans with you. It's important to me to make sure I let her know I appreciated it" he answered giving Ino a glimpse of a side she didn't expect for Naruto.

"O-Oh… And why not just apologize to her verbally?" she asked as she was really interested what would make Naruto give flowers to this person.

"She also thanked me for saving the village Ino. At the moment I was having some questions in my mind, and when this person did that, she helped me answer those questions. I am very thankful for her for that. And I would like to show her my gratitude both for helping me with that and asking me to go to the Matsuri" he replied back which really tugged at Ino's heart strings. She had seen little glimpses of this part of Naruto before that really piqued her interest here and this was her first real view into him. She was surprised to hear this side of Naruto, he never talked like this to her or her friends that she was aware of.

_'When I'm with him, he makes me walk to walk with him'_ popped up in her mind as she thought back to what Shikamaru had talked to her about Naruto one time. Shika was talking to her about Naruto and how he would be an important ninja for the village.

Ino just smiled at how Naruto could be so altruistic, he really was a great guy. She felt lucky to be able to spend time with Naruto like she did, and she looked forward to her date with him for the Matsuri. Or at least she was thinking it was a date although they didn't really clarify that with each other.

Ino guided Naruto over to a row of flowers and pointed at a certain bouquet she had just created that morning.

"I offer you these dazzling white lilies with blue accents. The blue represents your thanks for how she helped you, and the white symbolizes how you are sorry but that you want to be friends." she said as she picked up the bouquet and looked at him.

"Wow, those looks amazing Ino, who made them?" he asked as he took them from her and looked them over.

"I did" she responded as she watched him look over them. For some reason it was important to her that he liked them, not just anybody.

"Wow, you did an amazing job lanky, I'm really impressed, I like the thoughtfulness you explained in this. It will be perfect to give her, thank you!" he said as he looked back at her causing her to blush.

She loved compliments, and Naruto about gave her probably the biggest compliment she could get. She had a super soft spot for flowers and her bouquets and to get a compliment about them both from him was like heaven to her. He had inadvertently pushed a button to her heart.

"Thanks cheeks" she said as she smiled at him and gave him a small hug.

"Maybe you can finish what you started after our date" she said slyly into his ear as she would not let Naruto get away with tugging at her heart strings without giving him something back in reward.

He just looked at her and smiled, he knew what she meant.


	14. Chapter 14 - Why I Do This

_Late evening at Ichiraku ramen…_

Naruto sat alone as he stirred the contents of his half-eaten bowl of ramen as he sat idly watching the other customers eating and conversing.

He didn't notice Sakura appear at the entrance as she looked in and noticed him sitting alone in his usual spot. Her eyes softened as she saw him, she could always know where to find Naruto when she needed to talk to him it seemed.

And this was one of those moments, while she was undoubtedly troubled by her little banter she had with Ino earlier that day.

"Hey Naruto" she called out as she walked over to him and sat next to him causing him to look over and notice her.

"Hey there Sakura, you finally giving into your ramen urges?" he asked as he smiled at her, seemingly the previous events of the day forgotten.

"Kinda, but more just wanted to come chat with you" she said as Ayame had come up to the pair to ask for Sakura's meal.

"She'll have a veggie ramen Ayame-chan" Naruto said to Ayame as he ordered for Sakura. He definitely knew her favorite ramen when it came to it. Although he himself, thought a veggie ramen was rather boring compared to fish or pork.

"Thanks" Sakura said as she smiled at him, satisfied that he remembered.

"What's on your mind Sakura?" he prodded as he figured she had some topics to discuss which was usually the case when she wanted to chat.

"I really am sorry about not being able to go to the Matsuri with you Naruto, it's that stupid bet I made with shishou" she offered as she watched him pick at some noodles in his bowl.

"What was this bet?" he asked as he was wondering about it before earlier in the day when he learned of it.

"…Umm… it's kind of embarrassing.." she said as she kind of looked elsewhere to which Naruto focused on as he lost his attention on his noodles.

"Oh?" he said somewhat sneakily as something embarrassing to Sakura usually really didn't go in her favor. He loved to watch her squirm as she was usually a very planned out woman, or a very confident one and being rustled was pretty rare to see.

"Lay it on me" he said as he was practically begging her to let her know what was so embarrassing to her.

"…Remember when you told me about you having sex while you were out traveling with Jiraiya-sama?" Sakura asked.

"Uh… yea, what about that?" Naruto said somewhat confused and somewhat deflated thinking this embarrassment was going to be something big.

"Well, Shishou had bet me a long time ago that you would not come back a virgin when you left with him. And I took her on that bet… I thought you would be saving yourself for…. me" she said as she worked her way through letting out what she honestly thought back then. She lingered a while in silence before slowly saying that last word.

"Oh" Naruto mouthed and slowly sighed as he looked at the somewhat melancholy expression on Sakura's face. Like shew as off thinking about something that he couldn't quite read.

"I really believed that you would come back just as yourself, the way I knew you… unchanged…" she said as she thought back to that time Naruto had left the village to go training with the toad sage.

"Unchanged…" Naruto said slow as he thought about it as well as Sakura looked back at him to see his own somewhat lost look on his face.

"I did almost come back unchanged…. It was when I almost died during a mission with Ero-sensei that it opened my eyes. It pulled back the blinders and let me see the world for what it was." he opened up to Sakura as he looked back at her slowly moving his eyes over her beautiful features of her face he always loved.

"In those moments that I felt that I was really fighting to stay alive, I realized that our moments on this earth are only fleeting at best. That trying to wait back then for somebody was not necessarily fair to myself; I could have died any one of those days I was out there and never have experienced other aspects to life. That bothered me. So when I got the chance to instead see what those chances were like… I took them." he said as he thought back to his first real sexual encounter that was mutual back at the brothel Jiraiya had taken him to for his special occasion.

Sakura just looked on noticing the look of truth on his face, and the looks that she noticed while he explained it to her how he portrayed some moments of giving up on life, acceptance of death, and eventual thirst to experience life. It compelled her in a way, while it was not an easy thing for her to stomach as far as Naruto losing his virginity and it was not to her.

"You left me behind" she said slowly as she could empathize with him. She knew that he always tried to go on dates with her, and tried to interest her romantically, but she never had given him a chance. A moment of Sasuke flashed in her mind.

_'I wasted all my time and attention on him'_ she thought bitterly as she now was in a situation much different from Naruto. When he came back from his travels she could tell a lot about him had changed, but back then she didn't know the signs to understand really what had changed about it. Whereas now it was all too obvious, Naruto had become a man, while very young still; his eyes portrayed his world weariness, sharper thinking, and breadth of life experience.

"I waited as long as I could, but I eventually realized that was a one way street…" he answered slowly as he refocused on her.

"I don't regret how hard I tried, it taught me how to be a good man to a woman, but I also learned that some things never really go where you want them to. You have to know when to fold as the perv told me before" he added as he held a small but sad smile on his face. It was proof to her that he really did hurt inside about how they unfolded.

_'I had a diamond right in my pocket the whole time, and I couldn't see it'_ Sakura thought to herself as she began to also feel waves of sadness wash over her heart.

"But anyway, what was so embarrassing about that?" he said as he tried to go back to the original topic between them.

"It's embarrassing that I never did it" she said to him as she felt the feelings of embarrassment in the presence of Naruto come back to her. Here was a man sitting near her, and yet she felt that she still remained somewhat of a girl because she hadn't done it.

"You make it sound like you're never going to" he retorted lightly as he looked at her.

"I…" she started but then stopped as she waged an internal battle in her mind.

_'I want to do it with you Naruto'_ she thought to herself deep in the recesses of her mind as she did imagine briefly what it would be like with him.

_'I want to only do it with you'_ she added in reaffirmation to herself despite the fact that it was not lost on her that he had slept around.

"But don't worry, I don't think you'll be put in a situation to do that out in the field, we'll make sure to work out a way to get around that" Naruto offered as he could see she was having trouble getting anything out verbally although he couldn't tell the inner battle she was having concerning him.

Sakura steeled herself and decided to at least say what she was thinking.

"I only want to do it with you…" she said low but directly enough Naruto would be the only one to hear it and he did as she looked at him. She first saw his eye turn up to her and look at her deep in thought, himself for once not at a rush to say anything.

_'…'_ To say Naruto was not thinking of anything would be an absolute lie. Here was a situation he would at any other time prior to what all recently happened, would have been loving and jumping for joy about. But nothing was so easy anymore between them.

Memories of himself having sex with Sakura during their test were flooding his mind including having the visage of Sakura change to Hinata at the end. When that memory came back, it disturbed him to his core and he immediately went from feeling a sense of desire for Sakura to a complete different set of emotions of what he had unknowingly done to Hinata.

Sakura could tell as she somewhat identified correctly what he thought when his expression changed so completely.

_'He can't stop thinking about what happened between us, to what happened to Hinata'_ Sakura thought bitterly but not against Naruto. She felt anger swell in her heart for something that happened to Naruto that would cause such doubt, and hurt in himself. Sakura knew Naruto would never do that to Hinata willingly, but yet, she was involved in a way in his mind.

"…You can't think of me intimately without thinking of what happened to Hinata…" she more outright stated in a low voice giving exposure to her own sadness she felt at that.

Naruto just nodded his head lightly as he closed his eye to try to force those images out of his mind of a crying and broken Hinata.

"I can't look past that wrong I did to her, I can't forgive myself for that" he replied with as he re-opened his eye to slowly look back at her.

"I am sorry… Sakura" he said as he put his head back down slightly and rubbed his temple with one of his hands.

_'He can't think of me romantically or sexually without that, coming up'_ she thought sadly in her mind as she thought about that taboo topic of his.

_'It's… limiting us in how close when can ever get'_ she realized as she could only see this being a road block between her and Naruto. She knew Naruto valued his bonds with his loved ones above all else, and the fact that he hurt one of his closest so much and did such an unspeakable wrong to; she knew she could not fully comprehend how he felt. She could only see his waves of regret, and sadness from it.

"I'm sorry Naruto that this topic even came up. It made you think of that. I am very sorry. I will try to not allow our conversations to stray there" she offered as she thought that she needed to be there for him. She understood more closely now that it would appear Naruto would have to do a lot of healing mentally first before anything could really come back between them. She could not rush this; she had to first try to help Naruto through it.

"I'm here for you Naruto, if you ever need to talk about it, please don't hesitate to" she said as she got closer and put her arm around him and hugged him lightly in reassurance.

"Thank you Sakura…." he said as he thought about something else that came into his mind slowly.

"Thank you for trying to help me through this. I know I can count on you" he said as he returned her hug with his own as he lightly laid his head on her shoulder and closed his eye thankful for having her while she wore soft smile at his dependence on her.

Naruto sat with her thinking of their situation and he shifted his thoughts slowly to the date she would be going on with the politician's son. He thought back to the pangs of jealously he previously felt, and he was reminded of his predicament that happened with her when Hinata came back into the mix. It was a deal killer between them he realized as when he would think of Sakura intimately images of Hinata would come back, and he was not sure if he could get over that anytime soon.

_'I'm not in the right state of mind to really be there for Sakura in the way she wants'_ he thought sadly as he could only sadly laugh that their situations had reversed. Before he was always wanting for her, and now it seems she was wanting for him; but they never seemingly could be wanting each other at the right time.

In a strange way, the knowledge that she only wanted to be intimate with him did bring him some happiness. She was there for him just like she was his partner in their team.

They were one he felt.

"You should go have fun on that date Sakura…" he said to her finally as he raised his head and slowly moved away a little to her slight but wordless protest.

"Get a chance to live a little Sakura, trust me we don't know what is out there" he said to her as she looked him in the eye.

_'You waited for me so long Naruto, I will wait for you as I help you through this'_ she thought to herself as she reflected on his words.

"Ok" she said as she looked at him, giving him the impression that she took his words in understanding. It pained him and made him feel like he was giving her away, but he didn't want to hold her back and keep her in the dark. He was living his own advice.

She leaned in and gave him a long hug, reassuring herself that being in his arms was worth more to her than trying to go sleep around. She had to be there for him, she would not fail.

Ayame came up and gave Sakura her bowl of vegetable ramen to which Sakura picked up the chop sticks.

"I'll probably catch you there at the Matsuri with Ino, we'll see" he said to her as he slowly ended their hug.

"Where are you taking Ino?" she asked trying to get herself out of her own emotional rut she was still somewhat sitting in.

"Probably not somewhere really high class like you and that guy, but it should be a lot of fun" he said as he wore a slight smile as he thought about it. Ino was a safe topic for him, he didn't get the bad memories of Hinata when he thought about Ino.

"Besides, I don't need you telling Ino, she's going to find out the way I want her to" he said as he shot a look back to Sakura as he knew the two gossiped and Sakura couldn't seemingly keep secrets from Ino.

"Sounds like you have some plans" she said as she was curious what they were. Sakura knew that when it mattered to Naruto, he usually went out of his way and had things ready to go.

"Of course" he almost hummed as he looked back at her thinking back to a topic of their conversation.

"I still can't believe you're the virgin as much as we used to joke in Team 7" he said completely switching back to their old topic catching Sakura somewhat off guard. He fondly remembered how her and Sasuke would test him that he would never have a girlfriend; much less stand a chance at getting laid.

"Why…" she asked thinking along that statement of his, but not quite following.

"Because you ended up being the most beautiful kunoichi in the village" he said without missing a beat as he got up to get ready to leave.

Sakura immediately started to get a big smile on her face as she felt her heart get butterflies and blush a little. She immediately reached out and took a hold on his free arm as he got his coat on and lightly caressed his arm with her thumb in appreciation.

_'Damn you Naruto'_ she thought of him fondly as he seemingly knew just what button to push to her heart. He would speak his mind like it was nothing, yet it meant everything to her because she knew he was telling her his honest opinion.

Naruto looked at her and her smile as he did feel a little bit of a foxy feeling peek out. He wanted to cool the air between them, and his way of doing that with her was his usual joking self.

"You almost lost it" he said to her as she instantly grew wide eyes at his implications about how close they did get to doing it and her losing it. Was it too soon for that kind of joke between them she thought? She was unsure if she should respond, but in this instance it was Naruto who had said it, not her. She didn't want things to get awkward between them, but that joke kind of threw her in an unsure spot; she had to react quickly and diverge it before she failed to play along and it became awkward.

"Don't you have somewhere to be" Sakura asked expectantly of him as she crossed her arms and wore a hint of mock annoyance on her face. She was trying to get rid of him so she could eat and avoid the potentially awkward situation, two wins in her book.

"Yea, see ya" he said as he waved off as he left the ramen shop leaving money on the table to cover both of their meals. She watched him fondly as he left, thankful that he did try to joke around and go back to how they were before.

To Naruto as he walked away, he realized he joked probably a little too soon but luckily Sakura seemed to just let it roll off and he appreciated it.

It would be important for them to eventually be able to look past issues between the two he recognized. So he did joke around with her, albeit it was probably ill timed and not anywhere near the way they used to play around. He did miss being playful with her before things got complicated. He felt that he would slowly try to get back to that level with her if possible. But he had to be a little more mindful next time, he didn't want to make things awkward between them.

And Naruto knew that they would need a rock solid bond between each other. So in a way he did feel he could be a little more open to her about a very taboo subject, as they both had to work past it. It was only banter shared between them and not meant to go beyond them.

_A Daycare Building Later That Night…_

Naruto stood in front of the main entrance to the Kato daycare as he looked back at the note that Fumiko had given to him earlier in the day. He wasn't sure if he was at the right place but this building was indeed the right address the young woman had written down for him.

_'She lives at a daycare? I thought she was a ninja?'_ Naruto thought to himself as he looked at the building as he knocked on the entrance as he held his bouquet of white lilies with blue accents he had purchased from Ino's flower shop earlier that day.

"Coming" she heard a woman's voice inside that sounded familiar.

He heard the door being to be unlocked from the inside as he focused back on it.

"Hello?" he heard the young woman ask as she creaked open the door so he could now see her as she appeared in the slightly ajar door.

"Oh! Hey! Naruto-kun! Wow I didn't expect you here!" she said excitedly as she realized who it was. Fumiko was not expecting to see Naruto again after she met him. She had a field day telling her friends about the encounter as they all chimed in with how envious they were of her wishing they had decided to go with her when she went to run errands instead of leaving her alone.

"Hi there Fumiko-san" he said as he bowed to her and produced the bouquet he had hid behind his back as the door was being unlocked.

"How beautiful! Are those for me?" Fumiko asked even more excitedly as she gladly accepted the flowers from Naruto and bowed back. She then gave him a quick hug as he returned the gesture as well as he could tell she looked a little nervous.

_'Oh my god, I hugged him! And he even brought me flowers!'_ she thought to herself as she was on cloud nine seemingly in heaven at the way her night was turning out.

"Please come in Naruto-kun, I can make you some tea" she offered as she waived him in. Naruto obliged and went into the _'home'_ as he took of his shoes by the door and followed Fumiko into her establishment.

"Is this your home Fumiko-san?" he asked wondering if it really was.

"Yea it is Naruto-kun, my family runs this daycare and I live here still. When I come back from missions I get to come back and spend time with my family and help with the kids" she said as she went into the kitchen area to prepare some tea.

"This is a really nice place, you must be a very kind woman to help take care of the children here with your family" Naruto said as he looked around the rooms as he made his way over to the couch close to the kitchen she was in.

"Oh thank you, I've always loved raising the children. I get to have a lot of brothers and sisters" she said as she wore a really big smile on her face to which Naruto could see was really genuine.

He looked over some photos of Fumiko with her posing with children that he surmised were being raised there. The longer he spent looking at the pictures and seeing her in them, the more he felt that he liked her. Naruto always had a soft spot for a woman that could take care of kids. Seeing as how he grew up as an orphan, those that took care of kids that weren't their own held an extremely important and reserved spot in his heart.

"I'm so happy to have you here Naruto-kun, what brings you here? Did you want to see me that badly?" she said as she wore a soft smile on her face as she looked at him. Her gaze he felt could really look into him, he did feel his heart flutter momentarily as he was still having a very soft heart from her as he looked at the pictures of her with the children. Growing his own fondness for her by the moment.

"I-I actually came to apologize Fumiko-san" he said as he realized the real reason he was here as he said it.

"Apologize? For what Naruto-kun?" she asked interested in what he was getting at. Here he was showing up with a beautiful set of flowers, why would he be apologizing?

"I actually have a date for the Matsuri, Fumiko-san, I came to inform you, but I always wanted to come and thank you personally" he said slowly as he was feeling somewhat guilty for having to say that to her.

"So for having a date already to the Matsuri, I apologize" he said as he bowed lightly. Here was the village hero bowing to her, Fumiko, didn't really know what she did to earn this but she was amazed to say the least. Not only was the village hero in her house, but he was also bringing her flowers and apologizing to her.

_'He is so sweet'_ she thought very fondly of him at his gestures. While she was a little bummed that he already had a date, he showed up to her home and apologize and thanked her at the same time. He was pretty much solid gold to her at that very moment.

"And…" he said as he pulled her away from her thoughts as he slowly got down on his knees and then proceeded to kneel all the way down to the floor with his forehead touching her wood floors of her home. She stood speechless as she looked down at him, she couldn't quite process the fact that the village hero was her submitting to her like this. She heard of how great of a person he was from the villagers and rumors, but this was something else entirely. She actually felt love for this man. This was a true representation of him in her mind, and the stuff she could only think of happening in fairy tales.

"I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for being appreciative of me. You have no idea how wonderful that made me feel. I hope we can be friends" he said honestly and clearly to her.

_'I hope we can be friends'_ her mind hung on those words for dear life is what it seemed like to her. She had never before felt so touched. She actually started to cry overwhelmed by what was going on.

She walked over slowly and kneeled down next to his form and she put her hand softly on the back of his shoulder.

"Please Naruto-kun, get up, we can most certainly be friends" she said as he slowly sat up as she pulled him lightly up with her hand on his shoulder guiding him into a strong hug as she buried her brunette locks into his body as her head was tucked in it strongly. As she shook somewhat with her jolts from her happy light cries.

"Thank you Fumiko-chan, I would so greatly like that" he said to her as he returned her embrace. It was completely true. This was not something loving that Naruto was doing, this was him gaining a new precious person in his life. Not built on the lust for a woman, or a romantic interest, just looking at her pictures and happiness with the children in them. He knew she was an absolutely wonderful woman in his mind. And someone he dearly wanted as a friend.

"What I can tell you Fumiko-chan, as a fellow orphan, is that you are such a special woman for how you and your family care for these children. I will do all I can within my power to fight for and protect all of you. You are people worthy to die for, and I will gladly lay my life down to ensure no harm ever comes to you or the children" he said with such authority and vindication that her skin got goose bumps and her body tingled. This was the power the ninja's whispered about regarding him. The authority of a titan and it reverberated in her being as he spoke to her.

_'He was an orphan…'_ she thought as she never knew of that fact about him. She looked into his eye and she saw tears welling in it. But his eye looked at her with such fierce power that she could not look away. It was like he didn't care there were tears. He wore his heart openly to her without a filter it seemed. To hear his tears in his eye showed just how strongly he believed in what he said. And it made her heart flutter like crazy.

_'I will gladly lay my life down to ensure no harm ever comes to you or the children'_ that was a line of serious water works for her. She had a soft spot for children, and someone proclaiming to be their knight in shining armor and especially someone who could back it up from proof she witness first hand as she was there watching him defeat Pein from afar… This was undoubtedly a moment being burned in her memory she would take to the grave.

"Hey punk! What did you do to Fumi-chan!?" came the high pitched voice of a small boy from behind them as they hugged tightly.

Naruto turned to look down at the boy as he laughed to himself at what the little boy had said. He saw the boy pumping up his chest as he made an effort to look big. This made Naruto sport a soft smile as he looked down at the boy.

He walked slowly to the boy and kneeled down in front of him as the boy got a shocked look on his face as it seemed he knew who he was.

"OH WOW! It's FOX-NEECHAN!" the boy shouted as he threw his hands up in the air.

"Hey there little guy. I'm sorry for making Fumiko-chan cry, I did not mean to; I'm sorry. I was thanking her for being such a wonderful woman to watch out for you guys" he said as he put his hand on the boys head and ruffled his hair.

"Wow, your so cool in person fox!" the boy yelled happily. "It's okay, I know you wouldn't hurt Fumi-chan, you are our protector!" the boy shouted as he jumped into Naruto to give him a hug. That touched Naruto to his core.

"You are right kid, I'll protect you" Naruto said as he smiled at the boy as he gave him a hug. Fumiko stood back looking lovingly at Naruto as with every little thing Naruto did since his arrival, it seemed that he just exploded into her heart.

"Fox, can you show me your rasengan!?" the boy yelled excitedly as he mock posed Naruto holding a rasengan. Causing Naruto to smile and laugh.

"I promise I'll show you sometime kid, Fumiko-chan probably wouldn't appreciate me making one in your home" he said as he put his hand on the boy shoulder squeezing it in a promise as he gave the boy a thumbs up.

"Awesome! Okay!" the boy agreed happily, excited for the time he could see it up close.

"Takeo, its' time for bed, go get some sleep and I'll let Naruto come show you his rasengan sometime" Fumiko said in a motherly voice as the boy nodded and ran off to bed down the hall somewhere. Naruto not missing how Fumiko's voice went from womanly to motherly without missing a beat.

"I'm sorry about that Naruto-kun, he is a really big fan of yours" she said.

Naruto involuntarily placed his hand on the back of his neck smiling nervously as it still was somewhat weird to have 'fans' to him. But it was appreciated none-the-less.

He reached into his pocket, and he pulled out a blunt kunai and handed it to Fumiko.

"Give him this, tell him I told him to protect you with it, and that I am counting on him" he said as Fumiko took the dull kunai with a smile.

The kunai had an intricate fox engraved on it. It was the Kunai that he used to defeat Pein with; the blade dulled from the use it was put through fighting that monster of a shinobi. Fumiko immediately recognized the Kunai as it was legendary amongst the Konoha ninja as it glowed a lightning blue with wind manipulated chakra as it was wielded in battle, she knew there would be collectors that would pay absolutely insane amounts of money for it, yet here Naruto was giving it to her little adopted brother to protect her with. She had no words to describe how it made her feel.

"Thank you Naruto-kun, you are truly such a wonderful person, I am still in shock" she said laughing and wholeheartedly. She didn't' know how much she wanted to tell of this to her friends anymore, she wanted to keep this Naruto to herself if she could.

"No, Fumiko-chan, the real truly wonderful people here is yourself and your family. Thank you so much for taking care of these children" he said as he wiped his eye from the previous tears that were welled up in it as he was so clearly touched.

"I'm so happy I got a chance to meet you, and I look forward to becoming great friends with you" he said as he smiled at her to which she happily returned.

"I apologize but it's late and I have to get going, I look forward to seeing you around, do you work here when you are not on missions?" he asked.

"Yea, I always can be found here when I am in the village, take care Naruto-kun and be safe. I look forward to spending time with you" she said as she gave him a parting hug as she escorted him to the front door.

"Good night Fumiko-chan, I'll come visit when I can" he said in parting as he gave her a trademark smile of his as he looked back at her as he walked off.

Being around Fumiko-chan seemed to grant him extra self-confidence in what he was doing for the village.

_'People like this are why I do what I do'_ he thought to himself with determination shining in his eyes.

There was a lot of good to protect in Konoha aside from… her.

_'__I better get a good night's sleep tonight; tomorrow I get to be with Ino. I want to make sure it's a night to remember for the both of us'_ he thought fondly of Ino and to this being his chance to get his own fun before his life with Sakura outside of the village started. He walked home that night with a big smile on his face like the Naruto of old.


	15. Chapter 15 - The Incoming Date

_Late at night in Konoha_

Naruto had turned in for rest that night satisfied with the way the day had went, especially with gaining a new friend in Fumiko. Naruto was certainly glad to have a better understanding to himself about why it was important to protect Konoha. He and Sakura would be doing that together, and he was starting to really look forward to what the upcoming new week would bring.

The village was asleep and glowing in the moonlight that lit up that night. Previously large portions of the village were bustling with activity in preparations for the Matsuri. The village was definitely abuzz prior to it falling asleep regarding what was going to come.

In a dark room in the recesses of the village walls, underground, sat Danzo as he was dimly lit by candle light as he looked over a file with the name of _Okami_ on the front of it. He held the file up as he sat in a chair in an otherwise bland table and quiet room.

The room glowed with the markings of seals that slowly pulsated in various patterns.

On the other side of the table stood a lone figure. That figure had the effect of an out of TV focus transmission that was blurred mostly and hazy.

"So, you placed the Jinchuriki in the Ni-Yurei?" asked the figure.

"Yes, he is in a team along with Haruno Sakura" replied Danzo as he looked away from his file and over to the figure.

"How can you guarantee the Jinchuriki will be obedient? You have not placed him through the typical emotional conditioning of your root division" the figure responded.

"I will break him" Danzo retorted with a tone of absolute confidence in his voice as he looked back down to the file.

"How so?" the figure inquired as a finger on their hand was lifted on crossed arms in questioning.

"He relies on his teammate, which was shown during their testing. His teammate is his most important person in his life, and that will further be guided in the Ni-Yurei. When the time is right…. we will make her betray him. She is already in our pocket" Danzo alluded as he let the mysterious figure in on a brief aspect to his own plans for Naruto.

"How will you make her betray him?" the figure queried as it took on more of an interested posture towards Danzo. The figure hazing in and out of focus as it walked up to the table and placed his hands on it as if getting closer to Danzo to impose his own authority.

"It's in my capabilities, she will not be able to have a choice in the matter" Danzo said as he looked up into the figure where the eyes would be. There was only darkness there.

"Get it done, we will be ready in a few years' time" the figure responded after a long pause as it then started to back away from the table.

"When we come for the Jinchuriki, make sure his mind is destroyed, we will want to extract the Kyuubi with the least amount of resistance. ….And Shimura…." the figure said as it stopped backing away and then came into more focus to Danzo's eye as he looked at it.

"Do not fail me" the figure said as Danzo looked over the swirl pattern on the figure's mask that now was in focus. All Danzo could see was the telltale look of an activated, single red Sharingan looking back at him.

"Keep your end of the agreement" Danzo replied after a brief pause as the man showed no flinching or surrender under the intense gaze of the Sharingan.

"You will be the Hokage when that time comes so long as you follow the plan" the figure said before shimmering away as it went back out of focus and disappeared.

Danzo looked back down to the file he was reading about Naruto and Sakura.

_'She will fix him as they handle the missions we assign them, and then she will betray him and destroy his mind…'_ he thought to himself as he closed the file and placed it down on the table.

He reached over and squeezed the flames out on the candles on the table extinguishing the light with his meeting over with the mysterious figure.

Something sinister was happening within the village…

_In Naruto's apartment as he laid in bed asleep_

**_'NARUTO…'_** hissed in his mind pulling him out of his dream.

_'What is it Kurama?' _he asked back as he realized he was in his mind as he looked up into the great gate with the demon fox behind it, shaking off his disorientation from being pulled out of his own dream world.

**_'WHY DO YOU USE MY POWER TO HELP THESE PEOPLE?'_** growled in his mind as the Kyuubi perched down to look at him face to face. Its face otherwise holding a menacing look on it, to which Naruto was accustomed.

_'I will use whatever power I can to see my dream come true Kurama, your power is another major source for me to use, and I will use it… You already know this'_ Naruto answered back in his mind as he looked back at the demon. He remembered they already had this type of conversation before when he first started to seemingly somewhat befriend the demon.

**_'HOW DO YOU EXPECT TO REACH YOUR DREAM OF PEOPLE UNDERSTANDING EACH OTHER USING THE POWERS OF DESTRUCTION?'_** the Kyuubi retorted in his mind, clearly to Naruto it was digging deep for answers to which he himself didn't quite have.

Naruto paused as he thought about his answer, and also about some of the knowledge his late Sensei gave him during their travels.

_'The sage of the six paths wielded both the powers of creation and destruction Kurama. I will find my own powers out there in the world that will be comparable'_ Naruto thought back to the Kyuubi as he looked into the massive eyes of the Kyuubi as he felt each of its monstrous breaths pass by it as it listened to him.

**_'THE POWER THE SAGE OF THE SIX PATHS WIELDED IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FROM WHAT YOU COULD EVER HOPE TO GAIN KIT'_** the Kyuubi said back slowly as itself could recount the massive displays of power wielded by its own creator. The one human it respected.

_'I don't believe that Kurama…'_ Naruto thought in a defiant, yet serious tone of which the Kyuubi took note.

_'Even you don't have all the answer's Kurama. I will find the power necessary to unite us all, I know it is out there…I can feel it'_ he said with a dedication and conviction the Kyuubi only recalled the sage of the six paths speaking with.

**_'I ONLY LET YOU BORROW MY POWER, NOT HAVE IT, KIT'_** the demon growled back to Naruto. It was clear the Kyuubi was making its perspective of Naruto clearly known. Naruto looked hard at him, and for a little while the two did not say anything to each other.

_'There will come a time when I come to claim that power Kurama. Not to use you like those in the past… but to work with you'_ Naruto said slowly yet clearly after that long pause. He didn't back down under the weight of the stare the Kyuubi gave him after he finished his statement.

The Kyuubi could only show its large fangs to Naruto as it forced him out of his own mind as the Kyuubi was in no mood to talk anymore with Naruto. It was none-the-less a threat and a promise that was given to the Kyuubi. But the Kyuubi's thoughts did linger on the part of what Naruto had emphasized about working with him, and not just controlling him as the Kyuubi's previous containers had attempted.

Thoughts of the ways Naruto was changing since his travels with Jiraiya were running around in the Kyuubi's mind, it seemed something was woken up within him during those times. Something similar to what was in the Kyuubi's own master, a drive to connect the individuals of the world together and to have an ultimate goal of uniting.

**_'DON'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKES HE MADE… KIT…'_** was all the Kyuubi slowly whispered to no one in Naruto's mind as itself decided to give in to sleep as well.

_Early evening at Sakura's house_

**_'KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK'_** sounded in Sakura's apartment as she walked over to the door as she carefully made her way in her white and pink Kimono decorated with Sakura pedals. She still hadn't placed on her Geta and instead walked around in bare feet as she loved to do in her own home.

"Ino…pig" said Sakura as she had opened the door to see who it was on the other end. She wasn't quite expecting Ino of all people as she was absently thinking earlier how Ino was likely at her own house getting ready for her own date.

_'What is she doing here?'_ Sakura asked herself in her mind as some brief emotions passed over her face from what she felt the previous day when things went too far between them; emotions hurt.

"I came to say sorry" Ino stated as she herself did catch the hints of hurt that passed across Sakura's face when she first saw her. She knew how that felt from moments like what happened between them back in their academy days. Days when the two felt like sisters to each other and were always together, they could tell when they hurt each other; they knew each other that well.

"While I know we are technically going after the same guy, I didn't mean to let it go that far. My emotions go the best of me forehead" Ino said as she looked at Sakura honestly as she flashed Sakura a smile at the end.

Both girls smiled at each other after Ino initiated the apology, seemingly past transgression forgiven and past them.

"Come in piggy" Sakura said as she moved aside welcoming in her friend.

"Why aren't you in your outfit yet for your date, it's getting close to the time Naruto has to pick you up?" Sakura asked as she looked over at the clock herself. It in fact was only a couple hours till 7.

"I.. kinda need your help in picking the outfit to wear for him" Ino said quietly as she looked somewhat embarrassed.

"Wait, what?" Sakura asked, this was Ino of all people, she had an outfit for any occasion. How could Naruto of all people trip her up?

"I don't really know what he likes… You know him so much better Sakura" she said as Sakura realized that was true.

"How is it you don't have the scoop on Naruto, you were always the queen of knowing that kind of stuff about your dates piggy?" Sakura prodded as she wore a small smirk.

"But this is different forehead" Ino huffed lightly as she looked at Sakura somewhat unamused.

"Oh, how so?" Sakura asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't want to screw this up…" Ino let out.

"Naruto is the best catch in the village and I get a chance to be with him tonight. I really don't want to squander this chance" she added as she looked back at Sakura with a look of seeking out her help.

"O" Sakura mouthed.

"This means a lot to me for once…" Ino lamented as she looked down thinking about how much Naruto did mean to her even though her feelings were relatively new for him.

"It better mean a lot to you for once… If I could be in your shoes I would…" Sakura said to her causing Ino to look back at her.

"Don't play around with his emotions piggy, and I mean that" Sakura looked up at her somewhat stern.

"Yea if I screwed this up, you'd be there right behind me to catch him right?" Ino joked at her somewhat.

"Well… not really" Sakura said somewhat subdued.

"What was that?" Ino quipped now confused at that bit of information.

The girls looked at each other as Sakura debated about telling Ino more about her own relationship with Naruto. It bothered her, but it was something she did want to talk to someone about, she decided to go for it as she had been holding it in for a while.

"He thinks of me as a sister to him. I wish I could change his mind about how he views me, but something changed somewhere and that's how he thinks of me now" Sakura said as Ino could somewhat detect some hurt in her voice and noted how her expressions changed to those of someone longing.

"We have been through so much together, yet we seemingly have missed our chance. We always were wanting at the wrong time. I squandered my chance with him. Even if you did screw this up, I don't know what my chances would be with him" Sakura added as it was feeling good to her to get some of this off her chest.

"I am going to likely be with him for as long as long as our lives may last, yet I won't probably be with him the way he see's me" Sakura opened up as she exposed her first little bit about their involvement in the Ni-Yurei somewhat.

"Wait, what do you mean you'll likely be with him for as long as your lives last?" Ino asked as she hung on that bit of information caught off guard.

"So you did get into the Ni-Yurei together?" Ino asked seeing where this was going and remembering the rumors of the oath.

"Yes, but that's all I can say and even that is too much" she confirmed for Ino who did not like that piece of information.

"So you'll be out there with Naruto all alone. How could I possibly have a relationship with him?" Ino asked aloud thinking of the implications.

"I don't know Ino, but don't worry it's not like that. Naruto has made it clear to me he doesn't think of me other than a sister now" Sakura offered to Ino although she did leave out some of their past incidents with each other that would seem to counteract that. She could only hope Naruto harbored stronger emotions for her still as she thought back to her own 'proofs' of Naruto still thinking more about her than just friends or brother/sister for that matter.

"How could I not worry about that? How could I compete with that?" Ino asked Sakura aloud as her own excitement with potentially becoming something more with Naruto getting deflated. To Ino this was definitely a significant problem, she couldn't bring herself to trust Sakura's words.

"All I can say piggy is that I don't have it any better than you do, I can't convince you to trust that, but it's true" Sakura responded, although herself unsure of how to potentially even console her friend.

"That is no fair forehead, he has always been so close to you and now that?" Ino complained still as she was not having a good train of thought.

"Have you two ever done it?" Ino asked her after she looked at Sakura for a while in silence contemplating.

"N-No" Sakura answered surprised by the question and also somewhat trying to hide the fact about what they did share together during their Ni-Yurei testing.

"Have you?" Sakura asked back unsure if she wanted to hear the answer as she knew more about Naruto's past now and how he had been with women.

"No" Ino responded still wondering about the stutter in Sakura's response.

"How could I trust that you wouldn't try to do something like that with him out on your travels?" Ino asked back to Sakura.

"You can't… but just know that I wouldn't want to do something like that behind your back Ino, I value our friendship" Sakura answered dropping her nickname for Ino for added impact which Ino caught as well.

"Well either way, this is not a good situation is it…" Ino said lowly as she was still upset learning about Sakura's and Naruto's situation somewhat.

"No it isn't, but it's not a good situation for either of us" Sakura added sadly with her own thoughts having a different meaning behind them as she was thinking about how she would be so close to Naruto, yet so far away from how she truly wanted to be with him.

"Well thanks for being honest with me forehead" Ino offered as a truce between them. They were definitely friends and not enemies, she was trying to keep to her vow to not let love ruin her friendships.

Sakura nodded to her and smiled thankful for that.

"Do you know where Naruto is taking you?" Sakura asked to move on from their current subject.

"No, he hasn't said anything at all, other than to dress nice, which is my current dilemma" Ino groaned out back into her girly mode.

"I don't know which one to wear for him" as she held up her clothes she had brought along and gave them to Sakura who took them and started looking through.

"What about you, do you know where your being taken tonight?" Ino asked back also somewhat interested on where Sakura would go. The date she had was no small fry in the village either as the politician's son was a big item amongst the women in the village as he was a bachelor and 'in the market' and he was rich due to his family.

"Oh yes I do" Sakura said rolling her eyes as she pulled out a formal looking card from her kimono handing it to Ino.

Ino looked over the card which turned out to be an agenda for the night as she whistled somewhat.

"Wow, this looks pretty high class with you going to Yasuda's and then to a wedding ball" Ino said.

"Didn't Naruto want to take you to Yasuda's?" she asked.

"Y-Yea, he wanted to take me there first as he knows how much I always wanted to go" Sakura said somewhat sadly as she realized that Naruto would probably be hurt about this. Her date was taking her there, as she knew he had the political pull for making that happen, and the money whereas Naruto only recently got the chance due to his new notoriety and fame amongst the village as its hero.

"Oh, so this guy is stealing that chance huh?" Ino thought aloud to which Sakura could only nod.

"Yea, that guy's name is Hiro piggy" Sakura retorted as 'guy' just made her date sound like some lame duck.

"Well maybe he can be your 'hero' by taking you to Yasuda's" Ino snorted as the name sounded pretty close to 'hero' and she was not above making some wise jokes with her friend.

"Very funny piggy" Sakura just said somewhat peeved as she crossed her arms and wore a scowl.

"But this I am jealous of forehead, you get to go dance the night away at his sister's wedding!" Ino said as pointed and practically salivated in her mind at the thought of what that ball would be like.

Finally Sakura got something to be smug about in her situation with Ino.

"Yes! I can't wait! Although I can't really dance beyond the basic stuff, I never learned how" Sakura said somewhat embarrassed.

"Ah, that's a bummer" Ino said in agreement of which she didn't have a problem as she always would go out dancing from time to time at night with her friends in Konoha.

"But I wouldn't be so sure that Naruto can dance, I've never seen him do it" Sakura said relieved as she figured he couldn't. She felt somewhat satisfied that she at least wouldn't be embarrassed by being out dance by Naruto.

"Wait, really?" Ino said somewhat sad as she wished she could go dancing with Naruto as the thought really excited her otherwise.

"Yea, don't get your hopes up" Sakura confirmed.

"So are you going to let this Hiro guy have some sugar?" Ino asked Sakura catching her off guard again as Ino's thoughts strayed.

"N-No" Sakura responded somewhat unsteadily.

"Oh? You sure? You didn't' seem too confident yourself there?" Ino added somewhat slyly.

"N-No, I'm not like that on first date's piggy, or for dates at all for that matter" Sakura said as she tried to regain her composure.

"Why, if he's going to pop your cherry with Yasuda, might as well let him pop your other one. Most women in Konoha would let him" Ino retorted as she wiggled her eye brows at Sakura.

Although to Sakura that had a different effect as she really didn't want to think of doing something like that with anyone else than Naruto and here Ino was making her think about it. Although there wasn't anything for her to think of as she was sound in her thoughts on the subject.

"I'm not most women piggy" Sakura shot back hoping this subject would b changed. She didn't want to ask Ino a similar line of questioning however as she definitely didn't want to hear Ino's responses as she could figure what they would be. Ino would only be serious about Naruto meaning this much to her if she really did want to do something special with him.

"Yea, your sex drive agrees" Ino said back with her eyes half lidded as if in mock exasperation.

"Here piggy" Sakura said offering back one of the dresses of the bunch Ino had given her.

"He'll like this one, go get your outfit on and get out of here as I got a date to look forward to" Sakura added with extra emphasis as she was mock annoyed with Ino's playful banter.

"Aw, your no fun forehead. Have fun with Jiro!" Ino said smiling thankful that she had a dress in the bunch Sakura thought would work.

"His name is Hiro!" Sakura retorted this time really getting a tick mark.

_'SHANNARO!'_ she screamed in her mind that her friend couldn't even get her dates name right.


	16. Chapter 16 - Two Blondes - Part I

Naruto stood on the docks looking out over the water, it was starting to get close to the time he would need to go on his date. He was in sage mode and still practicing feeling around the village in his mode with his mind's eye vision it granted him.

He idly moved between targets slowly as he realized that the more he focused on them, he could make out their features slowly until he could eventually see them well enough to identify. He thought of looking to see if he could find Ino but he couldn't' seem to locate her.

Off in the distance he could see Sakura in her form to what briefly looked like she was standing somewhere, but he didn't give it a second thought as he turned his focus back on looking in the village at the people. He quickly realized however that he would not be able to locate her easily, it was simply too slow to try to focus on people like that.

_'I need to see if I can try to eventually identify people quickly like this'_ he thought as it would do wonders for his sensory capability.

Naruto was not a terrible sensor by any means, but his skills in the area were slowly increasing as he practiced with his shadow clones although it was not quite like learning wind techniques etc. This was much harder to practice, like it didn't quite benefit from the capability of trying many things at once to eventually hone in a jutsu skill. That was often what he did with his mass shadow clones technique. But this was simply a true skill that could not be cloned and duplicated over and over; it would take time to hone. Like others before him, and those that would come after, he would have to develop his sensory skills just like them - with a lot of effort.

Naruto definitely had as sharp mind no matter how he downplayed it growing up. He valued having fun over always being serious, it was just part of his personality. But he did always think on his feet as he regularly would surprise friends and enemies alike. He'd even give Sasuke the genius pause when they battled as he would seemingly always come up with new strategies.

He knew he would need to get better at sensory, especially for the Ni-Yurei, if there missions were to be heavily cloak and dagger based, it would be a pivotal skill to get good at soon.

_'I wish I could find a better way to locate my targets…'_ he thought to himself as he looked off over the dock overlooking the lake in sage mode.

"NII-CHAN!" came the familiar voice of Konohamaru off from behind him running up with Moegi and Udon in tow as he could see them approach in his mind's eye when they gained his attention.

_'Interesting, that they seem pretty clear and easy to focus on immediately'_ he pondered as that detail didn't go unnoticed. _'I wonder why I can do that with them, but not other people afar…' _

"Hey brats" he said as he turned around to face them as they reached him.

"OH! YOUR EYE!" the trio shouted in unison pointing.

"Did you get your eye gouged out for looking at naked women NII-CHAN!?" Konohamaru beamed as he struck a strong man pose.

"YEA I TOTALLY DID YOU BRATS!" Naruto bellowed as he also struck a cool guy pose gaining the attention of some of the villagers in the distance watching the spectacle in astonishment curious to what the shouting was about.

"Awesome!" shouted Konohamaru, "boring" shrugged Udon, "pervert" griped Moegi as she also bonked Konohamaru over the head.

"Hey!" shouted Konohamaru as he rubbed his head giving Moegi a dirty look.

"Come here you three and let me show you the mastery I learned while I did time in jail for my pervert crimes!" Naruto joked with them as he pointed for them to stand in front of him on the dock.

"WHOA YOU DID TIME!?" Udon shouted seemingly now interested all of a sudden causing Naruto to do a double take at the kid. _'What is up with him, is he like a criminal in training?'_ Naruto thought laughing to himself.

"Yea, but aside from that, I need to teach you a new technique as a reward for that time you caught me during my mission to upset the Hokage remember?" Naruto bellowed at them as they stood in front of him in amazement at the prospect of learning a jutsu from their Nii-chan while Naruto pumped up his chest.

"AWESOME! Will I be able to blow up Tora the cat!?" shouted Konohamaru as he pumped his fist.

"WAY MORE THAN THAT, YOU GOTTA THINK BIG BRATS!" Naruto shouted. "Look out there, let me show you what this awesome jutsu will do!" as he pointed out into the water causing the three to look out there in unison excited.

**'SSSH'**

Naruto's sage eye morphed into his unique Kyuubi enhanced cross shaped eye.

**_'SENNIN GOROSHI NO JUTSU'_** Naruto shouted as 3 pairs of joined hands with their index fingers pointing out shot out to the Konohamaru corps bums finding their marks. The dreaded One Thousand Years of Death seal gave them the surprise of their lives in that moment up to that point.

The unsuspecting genin shout out into the air holding their butts and subsequently launched into the cold water of the lake.

**_'splash splash splash'_**

"AHAHAHAH THAT'S WHAT YOU GET YOU BRATS! I owed you for that stunt you pulled on me with Sakura!" Naruto shouted and laughed at the water and to the submerged little ninja's that were still undoubtedly in shock under the water still trying to grasp what had happened.

_'Amazing, he's using the Kyuubi's cloak to create arms to act independently allowing him to do multiple jutsu's at once, I didn't know he could do that'_ ran through the Hokage's mind as the blonde Senju stood behind Naruto admiring his work; seemingly coming up behind him undetected.

Naruto was too busy laughing at the expense of the Konohamaru corps to realize the Hokage was standing right behind him impressed with his own work.

**'SMACK'**

"Ooof!" was let out by Naruto as he was sent into the air on a similar trajectory that the three brats had just flown courtesy of the Hokage.

**'SPLASH'**

Naruto made a grand entrance into the lake following the Konohamaru corps to the amazement of the passing villagers that got a chance to watch the whole scene go down.

Naruto surfaced holding three very wet genin as he held them and proceeded to swim back to the dock ladder to climb up his bellowing laughs washed away as he held a face of amused contempt for the person that did that to him.

"Thanks baa-chan" he said with a hint of annoyance as he reached the top after the little ninja as he ruffled their heads.

"Walk with me brat" was all she said as she turned and proceeded down the dock with a small smile on her face at the scene she has just previously witnessed. Leave it to Naruto to poke kids in the butt like that to teach them a lesson.

"See you brats" he said in parting as he continued to ruffle their hair as the Konohamaru corps left to go try to get into some trouble running away oddly.

"It's been a while baa-chan, how have you been?" Naruto asked as he sided up to the Hokage still wet from the lake as he made some effort to dry off.

"I should ask you the same thing Naruto, but you seem to be doing well" she said as she looked over him.

"I'm not ready to leave the village yet, but me and Sakura will be getting prepared for that after the Matsuri" he said to the Hokage to let her know his upcoming plans before she would ask.

"Good, I'll need you both to come see me privately at this address a few nights from now. We'll talk about everything there" she said to him as she handed him a small piece of paper with an address.

_'Kinda odd, that she doesn't want to just meet at her tower'_ Naruto thought to himself but kept silent on the matter.

"I'm proud of you Naruto" came seemingly out of nowhere after a pause from the Hokage as they walked in silence causing Naruto to look over at her.

"You've grown into a brave young man, and with what you are doing for the village with this, just know that I am proud of you. It may not have been what I had wanted for you, but I can respect your wishes to do all you can for your village gaki" she added as she wore a real smile for him. It was a rare sight for him to see, those kinds of smiles of hers, but it really meant a lot to him despite his own questions he had in his mind regarding the things they encountered so far.

_'I hope she can give some good answers later'_ he thought as he definitely wanted to ask her a lot of questions when he and Sakura meet her before they leave. What they had all went through certainly affected their trust in her, and they both hoped she could level with them.

"Thanks baa-chan" he said as he tucked away the note she had given him and he returned her smile and gave her a small hug as they walked.

It was odd for him to see the Hokage so quiet and the way she came and passed on that note to him, it left him with a lot more questions than answers but he knew better than to talk to her about it out in the open right now like they were.

_'Secrecy'_ he thought to himself, it would be the new name of the game for him and Sakura.

"Tell me baa-chan… did your uncle ever tell you how he was able to track people so well?" he asked to Tsunade as she walked with him. His thoughts going back on how to improve his sensory and he wished he could talk to her uncle, the 2nd Hokage renowned for his tracking ability that he could do from simply placing a single finger on the ground.

Tsunade thought about the question for a second going through her memories of when she used to talk to her Uncle and he would teach her some things.

"He used to say, that his trick was to think of something about the person he remember so well about them" she responded to him.

"Why?" she added somewhat curious.

"I'm trying to figure out how to get better at my sensory skills, but it's really hard and I've been kind of stuck" he said.

"Wouldn't be the first time brat…" came from Tsunade with a slight chuckle, this was Naruto after all - bless his heart but he did fail a lot when it came to learning jutsu's she thought.

Naruto just peered over at her for a brief moment as he knew he couldn't let her get away with that one, his old ways with her coming back naturally as he was now able to spend at least a few fleeting moments with her; which he did miss.

_'What do I most remember about her?'_ Naruto thought in his mind as he thought to the one thing that really stood out about his target of his attention seeing if this could really help; it was a tip from Senju Tobirama, it had to be relevant - the man was never known to play around.

"Your one to talk baa-chan, I can track you pretty easily" he said with a smirk.

"Oh? how so?" she said as she looked at him.

"I just remember your big bosom" he said without even giving it a second thought knowing full well what buttons to push today on Tsunade's quick dial to annoyance.

**_'TICK'_**

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT BRAT!?" Tsunade practically screamed as she whipped around to him momentarily caught off guard. He had a penchant for doing that with her.

_'Where the hell did he go!'_ she shouted in her mind as he disappeared mid stride running.

"YOU BETTER RUN BRAT!" Tsunade shouted as of that moment, all of her priorities changed immediately. All that mattered now was turning Naruto into a punching bag, he needed that from time to time with him being the habitual line stepper that he was.

_'THAT BRAT!'_ she screamed in her mind as she could still hear his laughing hang in the air.

_At Sakura's Apartment_

_'Her face, how her bang covers one eye leaving the other as her sole view into her heart….'_ he thought of Ino, his target he was trying to find earlier.

Naruto always used to look at her when she wasn't noticing to study her face. He always had a soft spot for the beauty she held from a very young age, and this was one trait of hers that was never different. He used to look at her lone expressive eye trying to imagine what was going on in her mind.

_'There she is'_ he immediately thought before he decided to transport himself with Tsunade undoubtedly ready to bash his head in somewhat frazzled due to his bomb he dropped on her.

When he thought of Ino the way he took the 2nd Hokage's advice, nature immediately pulled him in the same direction he felt Sakura in. And it appeared that Ino was right next to Sakura talking about something. He could make out her fine details immediately without having to really waste time focusing. It appeared the advice definitely did they trick, it was so simple.

He trusted nature like he knew he should and he felt himself stretch out to her and he rematerialized to her in a hurry his excitement still running high and laughing as he had just previously left that moment with the 5th Hokage about to rain down destruction on him.

"Yes, Ino-pig, for the last time, you look-" Sakura voice was saying as Naruto materialized although he could already see Ino in her wonderfully beautiful dress that was mostly a dark red with black linings similar to Naruto's attire pattern wise. To anyone else they would look like opposite but still matching.

Naruto had worn formalized Ninja attire with an angular button up top with his sleeves rolled up that had mostly black and red linings like he and Sakura previously talked about. He wore clean and well straightened pants with matching black shoes giving him a very sleek appearance to the general female populace if they had a chance to see it.

He had cut his hair short but maintained his youthful and outgoing look as he was no longer wearing his headband which previously had held his longer hair in check. It made look Naruto look younger, but still just as sleek.

_'I can't believe she is not wearing purple'_ he thought to himself while also thinking _'damn, she looks absolutely amazing in red'_ as he followed the lined patterns on her dress that traced her bodies outlines similar to his own.

Sakura could immediately feel the sensation of water droplets hitting her face and pattering on her Kimono and she registered something was wrong in her mind.

"AMAZING!" came Naruto's voice with a strong inflection of happiness in it finishing Sakura's statement as he cut her off causing both women to whip their heads to where he now appeared.

Naruto wore a big smile as he still had the remnants of a laugh slip out.

**_'TICK'_**

"AHHHH" Sakura yelled out as she realized she had been somewhat sprayed by Naruto's appearance for some reason.

_'You've got to be kidding me, he just appears out of nowhere and sprays me!'_ Sakura yelled in her head reeling at the situation that just appeared seemingly out of nowhere. _'Where the heck did he come from!'_

"Cheeks!" yelled Ino happily as she got a chance to see him and get a look at his somewhat wet attire as he adjusted it.

"W-Wow, you look great Naruto!" she added as she looked him up and down not quite believing how Naruto looked. The mix of just arriving somewhat wet, while looking very attractive in manly attire that had hints of battle ready design to it just set her heart on fire along with her loins.

"Thanks Lanky, you look absolutely amazing, and you finally got some meat on that body of yours" he joked as he smiled and whistled playfully at her as he took ample time to grace his eyes with her physique.

Naruto took Ino's hand and placed a kiss on it lightly as he bowed causing Ino to blush, her girlish side still reacting to good 'ol charm as it always had.

"What the heck Naruto!" yelled Sakura now gaining the couple's attention.

"So sorry about that Sakura, I kind of had baa-chan after me and I had to get out in a hurry!" he said as he looked over to her and had noticed he likely had flung some water on her when he rematerialized still carrying some momentum and apparently liquid.

Sakura was wiping off the parts of her face and Kimono that Naruto had managed to splash with water while wearing a scowl on her face. Both for how he entered, and secondly for how he was seemingly only seeing Ino the moment he arrived despite her being right there as well.

Naruto looked over Sakura's attire, and she did of course to him also look amazingly beautiful. Luckily his date was just as amazing to him so jealousy didn't enter his mind although he probably would have guessed it would if he didn't have a date, or a good one at that.

"You look great Sakura" he said as he smiled as he looked her up and down.

"Thanks Naruto" Sakura said as she also got a small blush on her face, as she watched his eyes gloss over her form. She could see that he was really looking at her and not just doing a 'courtesy' glance.

**_'SMACK' _**rang out lightly as Ino had slapped Naruto on the back of his head firmly.

"Uh, ow…" he said as he looked back to Ino in question.

"You're supposed to be thinking of me Cheeks" Ino responded at his glance.

"I am beauty, I have a whole night thought out for us" as he said and winked at her and smiled.

"Thanks" she said now feeling much better at the small jab of irritation with him as she was somewhat in the offensive/defensive mode with Sakura there - this was a rivalry between them of sorts, and they couldn't show weakness to each other.

"And you think you're going to see me all night?" Ino questioned him as she narrowed her eyes playfully at him.

Naruto just looked at her with his cross-shaped eye and she could feel her skin tingle at the gaze he was giving her.

"Yes" he said without a hint of doubt.

"O-Okay" she stumbled back involuntarily still in somewhat of a trance from his gaze he still held. This was a side to Naruto she still wasn't used to seeing like how she witnessed it when they had their little rendezvous previously.

_'Smooth one girl'_ she thought to herself as she was mentally bashing her head on an imaginary table.

_'That gaze, it looks so… powerful'_ Sakura thought as she also could see his gaze and knew it was something rare. He had seen that gaze leveled on her before, and in this moment she wish it was meant for her, but she knew it was meant for her best friend. She quickly hid a frown that slipped as her emotions did revert to that of hurt no matter how hard she tried to keep it from happening. It was a reminder of what she had before, but was now directed elsewhere although Sakura herself was still feeling excited. She could feel her Chakra change in intensity for some reason as she looked at Naruto and got turned on of all things from that gaze.

_'I wonder if his chakra feels like mine, like as if it reacted?'_ Sakura thought to herself.

For the briefest of moments, Sakura saw Naruto's gaze shift to her right about the time she felt her Chakra change with her reaction and desire for Naruto. Her eyes widened as she felt a hint of startle cross her mind as if he did react to it.

_'What was that…'_ Naruto thought to himself as he looked over at Sakura briefly when he felt his own chakra change and that feeling pulled him to look at Sakura. He could see her chakra in fact changed and it looked like his felt.

He returned his gaze immediately back to Ino who was too absorbed with her own feelings of his gaze to notice.

"Are you hungry Lanky?" he asked as he knew he had to eventually get some distance from Sakura, her date would be coming soon as well - so she need to be on her way.

"Yes! Are we going to Yoshinoya's!?" Ino swooned letting her mind run free at where they could possibly go. She hoped it would be better than what Sakura had lined up with Hiro.

"Someplace better, trust me" Naruto said as he smirked at her causing her smile to grow exponentially in size.

"I'm sorry Sakura for making my grand entrance like I did, but I have to take this beauty out to dinner, have to keep her fed so she can keep radiating those looks" he said as he looked back over to Sakura as Ino was wearing another big blush satisfied with his words.

"Leave it to you doing something like that Naruto" said Sakura as she shook off his apology as she looked over her attire. While she certainly wasn't happy with the situation, it was nice to have Naruto there.

**_'KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK'_** came from Sakura's door to her apartment.

"Hiro must be here!" whispered Sakura in a raised tone to the other two as she herself got startled as she didn't expect him for at least another half hour.

"Coming!" she shouted as she went to go open the door as she prepped herself adjust her looks as she walked.

"Come on Cheeks, let's get out of here" Ino whispered to him.

Naruto just watched Sakura go noticing what she was doing as Ino moved to wrap her arm around Naruto's which he returned the gesture accepting her advance.

Naruto and Ino started making their way to the door following a little behind Sakura.

Sakura opened the door revealing a very formal looking young man that was skinny but well groomed. He held an aire of confidence to him that also came off as smugness Naruto instantly thought.

Hiro immediately noticed Sakura and the two people behind her.

"Hello Sakura, I have come a little bit early to pick you up, are you ready to go?" he asked formally as he handed her a small bouquet of flowers of which Ino noticed weren't from her shop.

Sakura took them thanking Hiro as she looked back to Naruto and Ino and noticed they were very close together joined by their arms.

"Excuse me Hiro, my friends were just leaving" she said to him which he nodded in acceptance.

"Have a fun night Sakura" Ino said to her as they passed her as Naruto looked over to Sakura who was looking back at him as well, not losing his eye contact as Sakura noticed he held when she turned around to look at him and Ino.

Naruto stopped with Ino next to Hiro and he slowly looked over to him with his cross shaped eye boring directly into Hiro's own pair.

Hiro started to visibly sweat when he saw that gaze leveled at him, his confidence in his date and himself getting a good use out of her tonight temporarily waned.

"Listen well Jiro… Sakura here is in a team of two. She's the nice one, and I'm the not so nice one. I'm her teammate and she's like a sister to me. Don't get any ideas about her, and you better treat her very nice tonight and with absolute respect. If I hear from her that you tried anything funny or disrespected her… I don't care who you are, it'll be your last mistake. **_Got me_**?" Naruto said with absolute authority and even used his Kyuubi enhanced voice for the last part.

Ino could see Hiro visibly shake with fear, Naruto could certainly be scary when he wanted to. Ino felt a pang of jealously about Naruto doing what he did; to her it was a display of affection to Sakura in a way. They had always been so close, and here he was looking out for her again. She wanted him to do that for her, and in a way it was an advertisement to her of what he would possibly do for her. She both hated it and loved it at the same time.

_'Jiro'_ Ino mentally laughed at that as she had a bet with Sakura. If Naruto called Sakura's date a wrong name, Sakura owed her a free dinner at Yoshinoya's. _'He managed to call him the same name I did'_ Ino continued to laugh in her mind loving the moment. Apparently the blonde pair did think alike.

"Y-Yes" Hiro managed to get out as he felt like his legs were going to collapse like jello.

Sakura on the other hand was staring at Naruto with a strange face with many thoughts going through her mind.

_'He doesn't want to see me hurt, he's protecting me'_ she thought to herself as her feelings in her heart burst foward for him. She felt this was a confirmation to her of his care and love for her. He has to give her up to go on this date, and yet here he was being the Naruto she knew and loved so much.

Naruto lingered his look one moment longer without saying a word to Hiro letting his stare down do the talking and then preceded to escort Ino along in leaving.

Naruto paused one moment again at the base of the street to look back at Sakura who he noticed was still looking at him. He gave her a small special smile of his and nodded and he could see that she wore a small smile to. However something was very different than he was used to about that smile, as it looked like it held a lot of weight in it to him of various strong emotions. Like a very fond and loving smile that made his eyes linger and want to see it more.

Sakura looked over to Ino and could see her smirking.

"You owe me Yoshinoya's" was what she mouthed to Sakura who she could see responded with a quick mock scowl in confirmation that she lost that bet.

This night was indeed starting off as a great night for Ino as she wore a big smile and started to pull Naruto along to go on their date.


	17. Chapter 17 - Two Blondes - Part II

"Ease up Lanky, we'll get to our destination eventually" Naruto shot over to Ino who was dragging him currently away from Sakura's apartment.

"Come on Cheeks! I'm ready to go out on the town and I want you to show me an amazing night! You sure started it off right" Ino complimented him on how he handled the Hiro situation as he had definitely earned mega brownie points for what he pulled, in her book.

"Oh yea, you liked that eh vixen?" Naruto whispered to her causing Ino's skin to get goose bumps as she look over to him somewhat startled at the sudden advance.

Naruto leaned in and gave her a chaste kiss just purposefully missing her mouth as he played with her feeding off of her energy.

_'He, he just kissed me…'_ was repeated in the somewhat clouded mind of Ino's at that moment. She wasn't quite used to this dominant and aggressive part of Naruto although she had certainly got a first hand view that time. But to see him dial up his antics, made her want for more.

"What was that for Cheeks?" she asked as she smiled at him.

"You dragging me around like you're the alpha male doesn't jive with me beauty, you follow and I'll lead" he said smoothly as she looked at him somewhat debating on whether to follow or fight. Ino has always been very headstrong and usually the instigator during her dates, but here was Naruto turning things on her.

_'I kinda like it'_ she said as she thought back to how Naruto forced himself on her that time she found out that little secret which got her mood even more excited at the thought.

"Come on beauty" he said as he held out his hand in front of her which she gladly accepted.

"**_NARUTO!_**" sounded from across the street from them, a clearly irritated 5th Hokage that looked like she was out for blood.

"_OH….SHIT!_" was all Naruto could produce in a very dramatic fashion that caught Ino's attention.

"AHAHAHAHAHAH RUN LANKY!" exclaimed Naruto laughing as he ran off in the opposite direction letting go of her hand effectively leaving her in the dust.

_'OH MY GOD, did he just leave me here!'_ she screamed in her mind, ready to absolutely castrate the blonde knucklehead.

"_I SAID RUN YOUR BEAUTIFUL ASS OFF LANKY! USE THOSE HOT THIGHS TO GET AWAY!_" Naruto screamed as he laughed manically causing Ino to both instantly love and hate him at the same time.

"_YOU KNUCKLEHEAD, YOUR SUPPOSED TO SWEEP ME OFF MY FEET AND RUN WITH ME IN YOUR ARMS_" she screamed at Naruto more inclined to catch up to him to give him a good knocking upside his noggin for pulling that stunt.

"INO! ARE YOU IN WITH THE BRAT!?" Tsunade bellowed as she ran in her direction clearly pissed.

"W-What!? N-No Tsunade-sama!" Ino screeched out as she found 6th gear in her legs all of a sudden courtesy of an irate and irrational Hokage bearing down on her.

In an instant Ino was passing Naruto knocking into him and pushing him aside very unlady like as she ran with the fear of God in her.

"_OUT OF THE WAY KNUCKLHEAD!_" offered Ino as she coaxed his body out of the way with a nice body check all semblance of proper going out the window.

"Ooof!" Naruto let out as he fell to the ground sliding.

"_GOTCHA BRAT!_" Said the Hokage as she rained down a Hokage supreme down on Naruto's form.

Naruto instantly disappeared and re-appeared a little way from the startled Hokage who hit dirt instead of a body.

Tsunade instantly looked up and around to Naruto focusing on him as she turned around with about the biggest tick on her forehead Naruto had ever seen.

"There's no way we can hug this out?" he asked trying to dig for a peace treaty with the_ 'big bosomed'_ blonde.

"_NOT ON YOUR LIFE_" slid of out Tsunade's mouth like a demon spawn, yet very womanly.

Naruto and Tsunade stood in their stances, Naruto ready to bolt and Tsunade ready to intercept. Ino meanwhile was still running for her life in the opposite direction as she flew by Sakura and Hiro without giving them a second thought. Both Sakura and Hiro confused to what was going on.

_'What the heck happened?'_ thought Sakura as she watched Ino jet by without Naruto as she looked back in the opposite direction seeing a commotion.

What Sakura did see what the back of Tsunade for Naruto to only appear to have run through her as Tsunade had launched some kind of attack kicking up a lot of dust.

_'What the hell!?'_ a startled Tsunade thought as Naruto literally ran _'through'_ her, that she was clearly not expecting.

"_NARUTO!_" yelled the Hokage as she took off in pursuit with her yellow pig tails flying behind her and her Green attire flowing like it never flowed before.

"AHAHAHAH OUT OF THE WAY JIRO!" yelled Naruto laughing as Hiro turned around to look at him, and proceeded to not move.

"_NARUTO!_" yelled Sakura peeved that he couldn't seem to remember her date's name.

**_'SHOVE'_**

Naruto took the past of least resistance on his rapid attempt to get away from Tsunade which so happened to be through Hiro shoving the poor sap out of the way into a flower bush. Naruto didn't want to give the smug looking bastard the courtesy of passing through him.

Naruto mentally smirked at this handy work as he continued to bolt.

"OOMPH" was all Hiro could manage from the flower bush that he landed in.

"_WHAT THE HECK BAKA, THAT'S MY DATE!?_" yelled a fuming Sakura as she turned and also began to run after Naruto.

"AHAHAH SORRY SAKURA-CHAN, I GOTTA GET AWAY FROM HER!" he said pointing as he laughed looking back at Sakura. Sakura looked behind her and could see an extremely pissed off Tsunade-shishou.

_'UH OH'_ Sakura thought to herself seeing that look in Tsunade's eyes.

"I thought I taught you better than to associate with trouble makers Sakura" said Tsunade to Sakura as she caught up to the running young woman and made sure she could hear what she said. Tsunade was in a 'anybody I can get my hands' on kind of mind for some street relief it seemed.

"_AHHHHHHHHH!_" yelled Sakura as she also hastened her run catching up and running past a flabbergasted Naruto.

At least she didn't body check him, that Naruto was thankful for, that last tussle with his baa-chan was a little too close for comfort.

Naruto ran around buildings and through alleys kicking up all kinds of commotion as he started to make Tsunade lose his trail.

"Cheeks!" he heard come from an alley as he ducked into it into a dark corner behind some trashcans.

"Whew! Hey Lanky!" he said happily as he crouched next to her and put his arm around her back as he breathed hard. Ino of course was just focusing on his arm around her and his breathing and look of excitement on his face.

He was looking dead ahead as Tsunade appeared on the street entrance to the alley looking around seemingly not seeing them.

"Quiet" Naruto whispered to Ino as he gently squeezed her shoulder and caressed her back with his thumb.

All Ino could feel was pure adrenaline and a rush of excitement being in this situation with Naruto. She loved it, while it was completely weird to be doing this during a 'date' she was having an absolute blast.

They crouched in silence as they watched Tsunade briefly look into the alley before looking back up and down the other streets and areas Naruto could have gone.

**_'GROOOOWWWWLLLL'_**

Naruto's eyes shot open startled as their silence was absolutely wrecked by that stomach growl.

"Oh my God… Ino, you didn't…" Naruto could only whisper as he was looking directly into the eyes of Tsunade who had clearly heard the stomach growl as well.

_'OH MY GOD! DAMN STOMACH! Why did you have to fail me now!'_ Ino screamed in her mind completely embarrassed and mortified at Naruto hearing that sound come from her body in such a silent moment as they hid from a very scary blonde.

Naruto looked over at her with wide eyes as Ino slowly looked back with equally big ones as she covered her mouth with her hand as if screaming into it.

Naruto's face twitched as he tried his hardest to keep down a laugh.

Ino shook her head practically beginning him to control it.

_'No no no!'_ Ino screamed in her mind as she also started to feel her face twitch as well with her own laughter welling up like a damn as she tried to hold back. But she couldn't keep the laughs from building up as she looked at Naruto's face and Naruto looked at hers. It was like a feedback loop that neither could ignore.

**_"BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH"_** both blondes erupted out loud confirming for Tsunade that she had in fact really heard a stomach growl from the alley.

**_'POOF'_**

In an instant the area was flooded with Naruto's holding Ino's that all bounded in different directions startling Tsunade.

The real Naruto had picked up Ino bridal style and run with her up the alley way's building which was stories tall and bounded off behind it down back into the village running away over the roof tops with various clones of them taking different routes all over as well.

"Close your eyes Lanky" Naruto husked into her ear as he ran with her in his arms.

Ino just closed her eyes obeying and cuddled into his strong arms and chest as he continued to run, she could smell the scent of the woods on him. He smelt like… nature.

A little while later as Naruto was bounding around carrying Ino…

**_'POOOOF'_**

A very large sound emanated from the area and Naruto stopped and crouched down on one knee with her in his arms.

"Okay beauty, you can open your eyes now" he said which brought her out of her thoughts about him.

She opened her eyes to see the village down below and it looked absolutely beautiful to her. She slowly lowered herself out of Naruto's strong arms and sat down on what she noticed was a soft cover with food laid out in front of them.

Her eyes lit up at the scene as she realized Naruto had taken her not to a restaurant, but some place in her mind even better. She honed in on a small glass that had rare purple roses in it an started at it.

"I hope you like them Lanky, they were hard to get… but you are so worth it" he said to her causing her to look at him with wide eyes. Naruto was absolutely oozing charm to her and she was wrapped around his fingers like putty.

"I-I don't know what to say! This is amazing Naruto!" she said as she beamed a big smile looking at the view and the food in front of them.

She looked at the plate in front of her with had… bug legs, and insects wings. With some kind of sauce and a glass of what looked like wine with… flies floating on the top!?

"W-What is that Naruto?" she asked as she realized she was looking at a plate with some kind of bug meal on it.

"Oh come on Ino-chan, I made you dinner!" Naruto beamed as he put his arm around her and scrunched up his face next to hers from behind her.

"Uh, I see that, but what is it?" she said as she poked the bug legs questioningly.

_'Does he really want me to eat that stuff?'_ she asked herself unsure.

"What, it's a nice plate of fish!" Naruto said happily.

"Uh, no it's not, its bug legs" Ino corrected him.

"No its not" he shot back.

"Yes, it is" she retorted.

"Are you blind from that beautiful hair covering your eye Lanky?" he joked back.

"NO! Look it's a bug leg dangit!" she said with her voice taking on her _'entitled Ino'_ tone for good measure. She poked a rather big bug leg, and it twitched.

She almost gagged.

"AHAHAHAAHAHAHA sorry about that Lanky, that is indeed a bug leg plate" Naruto said as he picked up the bug leg and took a bite.

"OH MY GOD!" was all Ino could manage before she dry heaved actually gagging.

"Oh come on, they taste good, try them Lanky!" Naruto pressed as he wiggled his eye brows.

"NO WAY!" she shot back sticking her nose in the air.

"I want you, not some bug legs" she said and immediately clasped her hand on her mouth with wide eyes completely embarrassed at the Freudian slip.

"Oh…. Really?" Naruto leered as he whistled at her.

"Would you give me a big kiss right now?" Naruto said as he puckered up his lips and looked in her direction.

"Keep those away Cheeks!" she playfully yelled as the thought of the bug legs just in his mouth a little while ago didn't want to make her jump at the chance to kiss him.

"Come on beauty, just a little kiss!" he said as he wrapped his arms around her and began to get close with his puckered lips making them make noise for added effect.

"NOOO! AHHAAHAHAH" laughed Ino and she playfully screamed while lightly hitting him.

Naruto just smiled and laughed at her expressions, she was always very funny to him, and when they did talk together they always got along really well.

Naruto let go and gave her shoulder a light kiss as he picked up the bug leg plate and moved it off to the side away from them and pulled the actual fish plate out of the basket that was nearby.

"Sorry about that beauty, I guess one of my clones thought it would be funny for me to serve you bug legs" Naruto laughed as he thought about it and did actually pull out the memory of the clone setting it up that way.

_'That smart ass'_ Naruto thought of his clone as he smirked.

Ino and Naruto enjoyed their dinner atop the mountain and proceeded to start drinking the wine that Naruto had also brought.

Ino was having an amazing time, the view of the village from where they were combined with the company in Naruto could only make Ino be so happy to be there in that moment.

Ino was a lightweight, and she knew it, and the quickest way to her limit was it seemed wine as she was feeling a very good buzz start to hit her.

"Tell me something personal about you Cheeks, what is the one thing you really want in life?" she asked him as her eyes were soft from the feelings she was encountering; a mix of emotions and wine.

Naruto just looked at her with a serene expression as he was also feeling pretty good since it was him who had drank most of the wine. He could certainly drink a lot thanks to the Kyuubi.

"I would someday like to have a family of my own, that is my dream Ino-chan. I want to have a lot of daughters" he said chuckling after thinking about it and having a smile on his face. It seemed to Ino that he really felt strongly about that dream judging by the smile he wore.

"Hahaha, why daughters Cheeks?" she asked.

"To me… females are the most powerful. They have to deal with so much in our world today - it would seem too much, and yet they do it. Child bearing, family raising, fighting, supporting, your kind does it all. The most amazing people I know are mostly females. I… I would love the chance to raise some wonderful little girls into amazing women…. And naturally females are also the hardest to deal with hahaha, and I like a challenge!" Naruto beamed giving Ino a completely unexpected answer as she just looked at him as she took it all in.

"I never thought I'd hear you say anything like that, you were always going on about being a Hokage" she said as he replayed those memories in her mind against this new proclamation.

"Yea that is certainly still one of my dreams Lanky… But having a family has always been my most cherished dream. I'd only let someone that is really close to me know that." he added the last part a little slowly causing Ino to turn to him and look at him closely once she heard him say it.

"Do you… think of me as really close to you?" she asked as she wore a soft smile.

Naruto looked at her as he thought about it. With her he didn't have any bad thoughts come up or bad memories unlike with both Sakura and Hinata. Ino was like a calm yet beautiful canvas to him without anything bad to ruin it.

"I do Lanky, I really enjoy all the moments I get to spend with you" he said as he wrapped his arm around her as she scooted in holding her close.

Ino's heart was beating fast and she had a serious case of the butterflies in her chest. She hadn't remembered feeling like this for anybody in her past, this was way different and… special.

Naruto leaned in and kissed incredibly close to her mouth lightly connecting his lower lip with the corner of her upper lip causing her to tilt her head more into the kiss to catch more of his lip. She loved this approach he was taking to her, not overwhelming all in, but taking little steps getting her excited with each new level reached.

Ino ran her hand on his cheek and asked "Can you show me how much you like me Cheeks?"

Naruto briefly looked into her eyes as he slowly leaned in and laid a kiss right on her mouth and slowly tiled his head morphing his kiss into a French kiss that was slow and deep as he cradled the back of her head with his hand.

The feeling of Naruto supporting her and pulling her more into him had her body pulsating with pleasure and desire, her body was certainly starting to get excited and wet. She was always a sexual person, but when it came to a romantic situation, Ino turned into a firecracker, or so she thought at least by the way her body felt.

Naruto and Ino continued to kiss passionately and slowly for a while just enjoying the feeling of being together as they were, the wine sinking into their systems further as it took its course.

Naruto broke the kiss with Ino as a small trail of saliva from her mouth still connected them as she opened her eyes to look softly into his.

Love, passion, desire, want, need all swirled in her mind as she looked at the man in front of her. His lone eye in its cross shape and its power held a gentle and soft love and caring feeling behind it. To enemies it would seem like a demon, but to her, at her, it was like a deep loving feeling it gave off.

She ran her thumb over his open eye as she caressed around it and looked deeply into it, neither saying a word, just enjoying in the moment they were sharing.

Naruto finally broke the silence between them speaking his mind… " I want you Lanky"

"I want you too Cheeks" Ino said as she ran her hand through his hair affectionately.

"When?" she added as she slowly placed soft kisses on his face and one tenderly on his patched eye.

"After an amazing time together tonight" he responded as he returned her menstruations kissing her softly all over her face as she moaned in her mouth as he did so.

"O-Okay Naruto-kun" she let out in a very womanly yet soft voice.

They both sat still holding onto each other as they looked into each other not saying anything as nothing was needed to be said. They were communicating in the language of body contact and rubbing and caressing.

**_'GROWWWLLLLLL' _**

Came from Naruto's stomach as their precious moment was immediately interrupted as the blonde pair looked silently at each other.

_'Kami, did I do something bad to you?'_ Naruto asked in his mind as he mentally rolled his eyes at the gall of his body.

Her lip twitched, followed by his, followed by twitches on each other's faces, then on to giggles and finally…

"BAHAHAHAHAHA" as the blonde pair burst out laughing again.

_'We are so awesome together'_ was all Ino could think to herself as she smiled, laughing.

Ino was laughing so hard she started to snort like a pig.

"HAHAHAA nice one Lanky!" was all Naruto could muster between laughs.

Ino rolled over off the cover on the dirt and begin to slap it laughing her butt off and kicking.

**_'SHAKE' _**

**_'RUMBLE' _**

**_'GRRRRR' _**

"W-What the heck is that!?" eeped Ino as she tried to hold on to the clearly moving ground.

"Ah crap…" was all Naruto could muster as he realized what happened.

**_'WHAT IS ALL THAT COMMOTION!?'_** said the clearly irritated voice of Gamabunta.

**_'WHO THE HECK IS ON MY HEAD!'_** was added by the Chief Toad which reverberated in both Naruto's and Ino's chests.

"OH MY GOD, WE WERE ON A FROG!?" screeched Ino.

**_'ARE'_** cut in the voice of Gamabunta.

"Yea" Naruto responded as he looked at her bewildered.

"Who does that Cheeks?" she asked as she tried to wrap her head around Naruto having dinner with her on the top of a giant frog.

"Uh, me?" he responded as if it was normal.

Ino slapped her forehead, leave it to Naruto to think eating t on the top of a frog's head as romantic. Men…

_'But it was REALLY ROMANTIC'_ slipped into her mind as she tried to hide that thought as best as she could, failing miserably however.

**_'NARUTO, YOU BETTER HAVE ONE DAMN GOOD EXPLANATION'_** grumbled Gamabunta clearly not impressed with the thought Naruto put behind his date.

"Uh, I thought I had summoned Gamakichi?" which was true, he hadn't bothered to check what frog he had summoned.

**_'SLAP'_**

"Ow! What was that for Lanky!?" griped Naruto as he rubbed the back of his head.

"You shouldn't have summoned him out here just for our date, that was rude! Apologize to him!" ordered out Ino. She could certainly be bossy when she needed to be. While she was internally very impressed, she was trying to avoid her and Naruto getting squished by this massive frog.

"Uh, sorry boss" he said after a moment as he rubbed the spot Ino had lumped.

**_'AT LEAST ONE OF YOU HAS RESPECT, YOU BETTER TREAT HER RIGHT KID, SHE MIGHT HAVE JUST SAVED YOUR LITTLE BUTT'_** grumbled Gamabunta.

**_'POOOOF' _**sounded in the area as Gamabunta immediately dispelled.

Two blondes immediately realized that they were momentarily still high up in the air, the massive frog beneath them now gone.

"AHHHHHHHH" Ino yelled out as they started to fall.

Naruto immediately reached out with a chakra Kyuubi arm scooping Ino up and bringing her close to him. The continued to fall and as they got really close to the ground, Kyuubi chakra arms shot out from Naruto latching onto the ground and slowing Naruto's and Ino's fall until they were being gently lowered down all the way to the ground.

_'Whew, these suckers are damn useful'_ Naruto thought of his chakra arms.

Ino on the other hand had a look of a predator, a predator that was on the hunt for something she desired. While that may have been the scariest situation she had experienced in a long time, the thought of dying from a freefall, Naruto had saved her in about the most amazing way she couldn't even imagine.

_'He didn't panic or anything, he just acted'_ she thought back to him and how he handled the situation, she could only feel tremendous admiration and respect for him. Two emotions that when a woman sees a man in, a man they are interested in, turn into some very strong emotions.

"Thanks Cheeks, that was pretty scary" she said to him gaining his attention.

"Don't worry beauty, I will protect you" he said as he lightly leaned in and kissed her cheek. There's that Naruto that drives her crazy, the stuff she saw him do probably unknowingly with Sakura finally focusing on her. While she could certainly handle herself, she still likes to be protected by a man, especially Naruto.

_'Naruto, I am so riding the hell out of you tonight'_ she thought to herself with immense desire as her body was completely revved up and wanting. She couldn't wait to continue this night with him…


	18. Chapter 18 - Two Blondes - Part III

"THERE HE IS!" the blonde couple heard off to the side of them as Naruto's chakra arms dissipated after he used his technique to break their fall. They looked over to see a riled up looking Hokage and Sakura run up close to them and stop.

"Thanks for summoning a pretty obvious looking Gamabunta Naruto" greeted Sakura as she fell into a little bit of a stance next to the Hokage.

"Can't you two let me enjoy my date?" Naruto shot back in mock exasperation causing Ino to smile.

Ino moved close to Naruto till their sides were connecting as they stood closely together in their own stance assuming an incoming attack from the women in front of them.

Sakura saw how Naruto and Ino looked together and felt a pang of jealousy in her heart.

_'That's how we will be'_ she thought to herself briefly of her and Naruto when they go out in the wild, protecting each other. In a way she liked the way it looked as she knew her time would come with Naruto to be close to him like that. It still didn't make Ino being in that position any less easy to bear.

"So what's it going to be ladies… are we going to get into it here, or can I and Lanky go enjoy our night?" Naruto asked as he raised an eye brow ready for anything.

"I thought you were always chasing after a certain pinkette brat?" asked Tsunade as she crossed her arms halfway agreeing with Naruto in letting him enjoy his night with the woman next to him and half wanting to beat him into a pulp.

Sakura eye's shot up along with Ino's as they focused on the Hokage who just looked on at Naruto.

Naruto was silent for a moment, seemingly something on his mind…

"She is precious to me baa-chan, you also had her paying off a debt by seeing some Jiro guy tonight" he answered back somewhat vaguely this time causing both Sakura and Ino to look at him.

_'She is precious to me…' _hung in both Ino's and Sakura's minds, although the two women were feeling completely different emotions. Sakura was elated while Ino did not like that statement; she felt her and Naruto were having such a great time together.

_'What the heck, how could he say that!'_ Ino thought as she started to feel upset with Naruto, her competitive side against Sakura coming out. Naruto just gave Sakura a boost she did not want her to have at the very least.

"What bet?" Asked Tsunade seemingly confused.

"HUH!?" asked Sakura who looked back over to her.

"We had a bet Shishou… do you not remember?" she asked.

"I don't remember having a bet with you, what was it about?" Tsunade asked her eyebrow raised.

_'You mean, I didn't have to go on a date with this guy?'_ Sakura thought to herself as her shoulders dropped.

_'I turned Naruto down for nothing…'_ she thought as she both felt bad and incredibly annoyed with her sensei.

_'She could have been with Naruto all this time, yet it was Ino that was enjoying that'_ she thought somewhat angrily. To Sakura, any time she could spent with Naruto was precious and here was a monumental mess up.

"HAHAHA, you should remember how easily baa-chan forgets any type of thing she could possibly owe a debt on Sakura" Naruto said laughing. It was a well-known fact with Tsunade, that's why she always racked up so much debt prior to becoming the Hokage - it was a bad habit of hers.

"WHAT WAS THAT TWERP!" ground out Tsunade.

Naruto just looked over at her and smiled smugly.

"You still owe me from that one time we bet that you and Ero-sensei would have se-"

"SHUT IT GAKI" Tsunade barked with her Hokage authority as Naruto wore a way too comfortable smug look for Tsunade.

"Wait, she owes your for what?" Ino asked Naruto as her mind was momentarily brought out of its current thoughts of Naruto's feelings for her for that tidbit of news. The gossip queen always had to have the latest material.

"That's top secret Yamanaka" Tsunade said as she looked over at Ino with a pretty convincing look that Ino should drop it.

Meanwhile Sakura was stewing as the bickering was going on to which Naruto noticed.

Naruto got an idea, he needed a backup plan to deal with Tsunade, she wasn't one to let things go, and her pounding his lights out for his little stunts he knew she would be sure to cash out on.

Naruto walked over to Sakura and put his hand around her as he shook her out of his thoughts as Ino and the Hokage were in an animated discussion.

"Earth to Sakura, don't you have a date to go on?" he said as she looked up at him when he got her attention.

"Uh.. Y-Yea" Sakura said as she realized Hiro must be waiting for her back near the restaurant they were eating at. Sakura and Hiro had just left the restaurant when she noticed Gamabunta off in the distance and ran off to investigate telling Hiro to wait for her.

"Go enjoy your night Sakura, we'll probably run into each other at the festival" he added as he moved his hand back up and lightly reassured her by squeezing it.

"Just do me one favor" he asked as Sakura looked at him questioningly.

"What's that?" she asked. "Help me lose that tail" he said pointing to the Hokage. Sakura knew too that the Hokage would be after him and could ruin Naruto's night. She was secretly hoping for it so he couldn't be with Ino, that she was still firm on.

"No, you got yourself into that mess, you get yourself out" she said as she gave him his answer. Naruto wasn't quiet expecting that as Sakura was always helpful to him as of late.

"You sure?" he asked again as he raised an eye brow looking for confirmation.

"Yes baka, that's your problem" she said.

"Okayyyy…" Naruto drawled out as he walked back to Ino and the Hokage.

"That's enough baa-chan, I'm going to take this beautiful woman here out now okay?" Naruto cut in causing Ino to wear a blush and Sakura to wear a scowl as Naruto grabbed Ino's arm and guided her away with him.

"Hold it brat, you don't seriously think you're going to leave her unscathed are you?" Tsunade asked amused that Naruto would think things would go his way tonight. It would take a miracle after what he pulled with her.

"That depends baa-chan…" Naruto said as he looked at the Hokage and both Ino and Sakura looked on confused. Ino more worried that the Hokage was about to ruin her date.

"On what brat?" Tsunade shot back with a hint of annoyance.

"On if you want to see your apprentice there unscathed" he said causing Sakura to look at him in confusion along with Tsunade.

_'Is he talking about me?'_ Sakura asked herself in her mind.

"I don't follow, Sakura is fine brat" Tsunade said as she looked over to Sakura. It's not like Naruto to use Sakura as a bargaining chip so she was somewhat thrown off by his statement, although she didn't show it, a testament to her experience.

"She will be… if you help her…" he said as he then paused letting the silence sink in.

"What?" asked both Sakura and Tsunade in unison clearly confused but at the same time heighted in awareness as it sounded like Naruto was giving them some kind of a threat.

"Boom" is what he mouthed that seemed to be in slow motion for Sakura as she comprehended it.

**_'SSSSSSSS'_** hissed out loudly from underneath Sakura's Kimono.

_'OH MY GOD, NOT AGAIN!'_ Sakura screamed in her mind.

"YOU DIDN'T!?" Sakura screamed out in horror as Tsunade rushed over instantly realizing what it was. That Kimono would make it extremely difficult to find in time.

"AHAHAHAH YOU BET I DID SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto yelled out laughing as he instantly bolted in the opposite direction dragging Ino with him as he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder and grabbed onto her butt cheeks to hold her stably as she was draped over his shoulder butt first in the air.

_'Sakura-chan'_ was what Sakura's mind hung on that Naruto had said. Despite the situation, it had been a while since Naruto referred to her affectionately like that. She was always so desperate for it, and there it was. She knew that when Naruto was in high intensity situations he often spoke his mind and his heart. And she figured before that he was trying to consciously hide calling her _'chan'_ and showing his affection. But there in that moment, it slipped. His carefully constructed façade slipped she felt, and she could see it. She wore a small smile as she watched Naruto running off with Ino.

Instantly Tsunade was on Sakura looking for the tag underneath the Kimono as she was feeling for it.

_'THAT BRAT IS SO DEAD!'_ was all she could scream in her mind at Naruto.

_'What the hell is going on!?'_ is all Ino could think of aside from the obvious feeling of Naruto's powerful hands that were holding on to her butt as she was draped unceremoniously over Naruto's shoulder.

"You better put me down right now Cheeks!" Ino yelled as she hit him repeatedly with slaps in a light tone.

"We gotta run like the wind Lanky! I don't have time to wait for you to keep up!" Naruto said excitedly as he ran and Ino bobbled around on him.

"I don't want all of Konoha seeing my rear end Cheeks, damnit!" she yelled as she continued to hit him.

"That's why I am grabbing onto it Lanky, I'm covering it up for you" Naruto said happily as he continued to run.

_'Oh my god, how romantic is that!'_ shot into Ino's mind, the thought of her man being so considerate ran through her mind. Here was Naruto doing something so monumentally stupid to her, yet he had the decency to think of her ass cheeks.

"You pervert!" is all she could muster as she thought at how stupid this moment was and started laughing.

"With you? You bet I am!" Naruto retorted happily as Naruto was bounding from building to building in the village finally stopping on a roof top and letting her down.

Ino readjusted her skirt and blew the hair out of her face save for her typical eye covering strand and looked at him with a sharp gaze.

"You better make that up to me Cheeks that was pretty embarrassing" she said in a sultry voice still excited from it. She secretly loved that he did that, to her it was a sign of his interest in her.

"Name your price Lanky" he said as he looked at her and into her eyes.

"You can't afford me" she shot back as she put her nose up in the air and crossed her arms.

"Ohhhh, so you were soliciting me for sex?" Naruto said back smoothly as he wiggled his eye brows.

"NO! That's free bu-" Ino immediately cut herself off and covered her mouth eyes wide open.

"HO HO!" Naruto said as he puffed up his chest and whistled.

"SHUT UP!" Ino shot back

**_'BAM'_** as she bonked him over the head as she also took note that her hit connected.

"Bu-" he got out before Ino cut him off "ZIP IT!" as she moved her pinched fingers over her mouth for added effect in that threat.

Naruto just looked at her smiling, he got her to slip up and he was loving it. He kept seeing that the more time he spent with her, she was opening up more, and she was starting to just speak her mind with him. She trusted him.

_ Back with a struggling Hokage and Sakura…._

Sakura could only laugh at the moment she was in, somewhere on her body was an exploding tag courtesy of Naruto.

Where in the heck did they even get into this little game of theirs? She pondered in her mind as time seemed to stand still as she looked on to a clearly panicking Hokage as she Tsunade to find the tag.

Sakura could feel the excitement in her chakra, what she had noticed before that moment the tag activated was how her chakra seemed to spike with power and a feeling of excitement seemed to have come from it.

She didn't understand what it was, but she could feel it. Just like when that moment happened between her and Naruto earlier where he looked back at her when she caused her chakra to spike due to emotions, this was the same but it was started by Naruto.

She could feel something on her body, not something physical but she could feel Chakra. She focused on the feeling more and she could tell it was both hers and Naruto's Chakra.

She realized it was small, yet full of their Chakra.

_'THAT'S IT!'_ her eyes shot open in realization!

**_'RRRIPPPPP'_** rang through the area as Sakura once again ripped her orange panties and as she threw them away she looked directly at the torn article as it left her hand.

She could now see the exploding tag, it was placed on the inside of her panties in such a way that it would have been impossible for her to quickly locate and tear away by itself without losing the panties. It was exactly where she felt it was in her mind. Although she couldn't physically feel it on her body, or more specifically her butt, she could feel their Chakra in it.

It was meant for her to rip away her panties again she realized. Naruto could have put it somewhere else to just rip away by itself, but he did this in such a way it forced her to get rid of that article of clothing.

_'NARUTO!'_ she thought in her mind as she both loved and hated him in that moment for what he did.

She loved him for the fact that it meant he somehow had reached in and placed that tag on such an intimate part on her body, and she also absolutely loved that he seemed to harbor some weird fascination about her panties. Either calling out their color, or blowing them up it seemed. And she hated him for the fact that he was toying with her like that, she wanted so much more with him, she wanted all of him, but he was teasing in a way.

Sakura did not like to be teased, she only liked to be teased if she got it all in the end. And with Naruto she didn't know if she would.

**_'BOOOOOM'_** sounded through the area as the exploding tag blew up off a distance from her and the Hokage.

"He really did put a real tag on you' Tsunade said out to no one in particular disturbed at what Naruto had done.

"Y-yea, but he's done that before" she answered back as she looked on at the smoke as it billowed from the explosion.

_'It's one of the ways that we play together'_ she thought to herself as she also thought about how she would have to find a way to play back with him.

"WHAT!?" Tsunade yelled out as she looked back at Sakura, she was somewhat disturbed to see that Sakura was wearing a smile… like a heartfelt smile.

_Back with Naruto and Ino…_

Naruto and Ino arrived at the central grounds in Konoha that was prepared for the Kanto Matsuri and the ball for the politicians wedding. Both events were going to happen in the same area that night as part of a promotion of the Fire Countries citizens to be able to feel closer to the political parties.

What better way than to have an after wedding ball there for Hiro's sister Kimiko. Kimiko was just married to Oda Tanaka and both of them were very well liked in the village for their work they did with many citizens rights for medical care which was also the way Hiro and Sakura were introduced together as Hiro was helping his sister in public relations that worked directly with Konoha's hospital.

Eventually Hiro approached the Hokage about taking Sakura to the Matsuri and that's how Tsunade got Sakura involved as she thought she needed to get out of the hospital once in a while.

"Wow this looks so amazing Naruto! I've always wanted to go to a ball and dance!" Ino said all giddy causing Naruto to smile and laugh at her antics.

"What is one of your dreams Ino?" Naruto asked as he looked at her and the excited expression she wore.

"…I always wanted to go dance with the elite" she said as she looked on fondly at the ball area's setup and how elegant the floor and lighting looked. The backset off the ball was the Matsuri's main areas with all the wonderfully lit Kanto shinning with their various inscriptions on them giving an amazing look to the area.

Ino was enthralled with it all to say the least.

"Uh, excuse me Uzumaki-san" came from their side gaining their attention.

_'Why did I just respond to that like it was my name?'_ Ino thought to herself as dreams of being married to Naruto flashed in her mind causing her to get a little excited.

"What is it Jiro?" Naruto asked as he looked at the familiar man.

"Have you seen Haruno-chan?" he asked.

_'Haruno-chan'_ Naruto thought darkly as he looked at the man a little harder when he said that.

"Yes, she was with the Hokage last I saw her, she should be here any minute now" he said to Hiro who bowed and moved a little ways away from Naruto taking note of Naruto's 'care stare'.

Naruto was feeling an urge to protect Sakura with this guy, as far as he knew they didn't really know each other and he's already calling her affectionately, that he didn't like one bit.

"Sorry about that Hiro-kun" said Sakura as she walked up dragging Naruto at his current line of thought to only be surprised by what she had said in reference to that guy. She never called Naruto affectionately like that. He did feel a strong hint of jealously at that.

_'The look on his face, that must have made him at least a little jealous'_ thought Sakura as she wanted to get back at Naruto somehow for that stunt he pulled, after all she didn't have panties under her Kimono now. She could see that in fact did, she knew all of his looks all too well unlike Ino.

"Wow your on such an affectionate basis already Sakura?" asked Ino just loud enough that her, Sakura and Naruto heard it.

"Yea, Hiro is a real gentleman" she said as she put her arm around Hiro who just looked at her and then continued looking off in the distance at some girl which Naruto noticed as his eye burned on the connected arms of Sakura and Hiro which didn't go unnoticed on Sakura.

"What about you Cheeks, are you a gentleman?" asked Ino gaining Naruto's attention as he looked at her and smiled.

He leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips in front of Sakura and Hiro who wasn't looking at them.

"I try to be my beauty, you deserve only the best" he said as he brought up his hand and rubbed Ino's cheek affectionately with it while Sakura looked on with a strange look on her face while her mind was in turmoil.

_'That…. hurt…'_ was all she could think as she looked at Naruto's hand wishing he was doing that to her.

"Good answer Cheeks" Ino smiled and leaned in again and softly kissed him as Sakura watched the genuine smile Ino was wearing more feeling hurt than jealous.

Sakura quickly realized that this was not a good situation to be in, but she also was feeling very upset right now.

Sakura looked over to see Hiro looking off in the distance and followed his line of sight to a blonde woman off in the distance. She knew he had been looking elsewhere for a little while, just not at what. She wanted to hit him, but at the same time, she could not show Naruto that her date was not paying attention to her.

She looked back to Naruto and could see it looked like he wanted to tell her something but she knew it wasn't the right time to call him out on it.

She followed Naruto's line of sight again and she could see he was looking at her and Hiro's joined arms.

That made Sakura feel weird, almost like she was doing something wrong to Naruto, and she knew in her mind what she was doing, but she was upset with him, and for him being there with Ino. She didn't want to acknowledge that had she only checked with Tsunade, she would have been there with Naruto, not Ino. Sometimes, Sakura was stubborn in admitting to her mistakes, she was usually always right, but in this case she wasn't and she was also a strong willed woman due to her capabilities, and her pride was getting in the way.

She wanted Naruto to chase after her like he always did in the old days, not be there with some other woman.

Sakura reached down and joined her hand with Hiro's and brought his hand up and kissed it with her mouth finally getting Hiro's attention. When she looked back at Naruto she saw his Kyuubi-sage eye had changed back to its ocean blue eye.

She wished he hadn't got out of his nature mode, with his normal self she could see his emotions so much clearer without all his power hiding it away. She could clearly see the pain in his eye as Naruto turned around with Ino and guided her to another area, Sakura knew she saw a tear threatening to fall in his eye.

_Flashback…_

"Shishou I don't understand, what do you mean?" Sakura asked as she sat opposite the Hokage.

"You mean so much to Naruto, you control his heart Sakura. I don't think you realize what control you really have over him. That's why you are his teammate in the Ni-Yurei… If there is ever a time things get out of hand, you are the only one that can control him" Tsunade said as she looked at Sakura seriously.

"Be careful what you do with it, he is a power and a weapon Sakura. And as such, you must control him with the respect a weapon commands" she said causing Sakura to think about that responsibility. She always was so useless to him, how could she have such control over him?

_End Flashback…_

_'Love'_ she thought to herself now in more understanding.

_'I control him because of the love he has for me…'_ she continued along that same frame of mind.

Her heart hurt for him in that moment and she felt so incredibly wrong.

"…." she made a motion to say something to him to make him stop walking away with Ino, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She felt upset with herself.

Ino looked over to Naruto and could see his quiet face that looked on in thought.

"You okay Cheeks?" she asked as she squeezed his hand causing him to look over to her with his ocean blue eye. She loved looking in his eye.

_'I wish I could look in his other eye too, he always had such beautiful eyes'_ she thought to herself.

"Yea Lanky, I'm with you aren't I? Of course I'm okay" he said as he smiled at her softly.

Naruto and Ino moved along to go see the Kanto dancers as they tantalized the crowds with their illuminated displays and balancing feats. While Sakura and Hiro moved along to go to the ball area and sit at a table with Hiro's relatives who were busy talking political strategies while Sakura would look around every so often to find Naruto.

As Naruto enjoyed the moments with Sakura, his heart was hurting. He was realizing just how difficult it was going to be with him and Sakura around doing their own separate things. He looked over at Ino who was happily clapping and making a myriad of excited to funny faces as she watched the balancing pole dancers.

_'This is not fair to her'_ Naruto thought of Ino as he felt how he was enjoying the moment, however his thoughts kept lingering back to Sakura.

_'It's hard to look past someone that I always kept my eyes on for most of my life…'_ he thought sadly.

Ino reached in and kissed him lightly startling him out of his thoughts.

"Thank you Cheeks for bringing me here, it is so amazing to share this moment with you" as she hugged him tightly and he took in her scent of flowers as he returned the favor in full as he dug his hands tightly into her dress.

"Thank you Lanky, you have no idea how much this means to me" he whispered back as he spoke his mind. The thought that there was another woman he could enjoy something like this with, he was such a lucky man.

_'I must focus on the woman in front of me, not the one that I could never have…'_ he thought to himself.

Naruto wrapped his arms around Ino as she was facing away from him and he held her tightly as they interlocked fingers. He rested his chin on her head lightly as they watched the people and the dancers.

They laughed and got excited as moments of excitement and intrigue passed. To both of them, this felt so right.

Sakura got a moment where she could clearly see Naruto and Ino and she watched how they looked together. How they looked so happy together.

Sakura looked back over to Hiro as he was seemingly more interested in some discussions about how well the hospital was doing rather than focusing on her. What was she there for?

_'I'm like a trophy for this asshole'_ she thought of Hiro. She felt like he was just taking her around as a beautiful thing to show off. She was very well known in the village and she was often referred to as being Konoha's "beautiful pinkette warrior".

And just a little ways away were two ninja enjoying their moments together in such an intimate setting. The closeness of Naruto and Ino was not lost on Sakura. She could see that she was losing Naruto to Ino.

She felt angry with both Naruto and Ino, her heart was just letting out its emotions internally as there was nothing else she could do in that moment. She was upset for hurting Naruto earlier but she also was upset that he was getting so close to Ino.

**_'CLING CLING CLING'_** rang out as Oda stood up hitting a glass to make an announcement to the ball attendees as Sakura looked over to see what was going on.

"I'd like to announce the beginning of the festivities for my marriage to the radiant Kimiko Tanaka! Thank you all for coming and please having fun!" Ado said as the party goers all cheered raising their glasses as music started to play.

Sakura looked over at the dance floor and over to Hiro as he resumed talking to his family members. She wore a bored expression on her face, she could see he was in no inclination to go dance.

"Hey, the ball is starting Naruto!" Ino exclaimed excitedly as they had looked over when the patrons were cheering at the starting of that event.

"Let's go beauty!" Naruto said happily as he guided her away from the main area with the Kanto over to the ball entrance.

The main usher into the ball area raised his hand stopping Ino and Naruto.

"Excuse me sir, are you on the list?" he asked.

"No" Naruto responded looking at the man.

"What is your name sir?" he added to his original question as the ball would certainly try to accommodate some of the citizens as part of their public relations initiative.

"Uzumaki Naruto, and this is Yamanaka Ino" he said to which Ino smiled.

"Please come in Uzumaki-san! Our guests are most excited to meet you" the man said bowing moving aside as Ino and Naruto continued on their walk into the ball area as they bowed slightly as they passed by.

"Wow this is just as amazing as the Kanto area" Ino said of the dance area with its similar intimate lighting and soft music playing.

Naruto noticed that Ino was looking directly down at the dance area where there were many couples dancing as he leaned in and whispered "It's only missing one thing… a beautiful woman dancing there, let's fix that" which caused Ino to get goose bumps and blush at the compliment. She loved how affectionate Naruto could be with his words.

"Welcoming Uzumaki Naruto and Yamanka Ino" was announced by the wait staff who made sure to announce any new guest to the ball.

Ino blushed excitedly and was half embarrassed as she wasn't used to being announced like that. The people who were close by that heard the names announcement immediately looked over and were clapping. It was kind of intimidating for Ino to see that. She looked over at Naruto and just saw him smiling and bow slightly, a natural at the attention.

She wore a big smile as she couldn't wait to get to the dance floor as she practically started dragging Naruto giggling with excitement.


	19. Chapter 19 - Two Blondes - Part IV

Naruto's hand was being all but crushed by his beautiful blonde date. Yamanaka Ino was dragging the village hero quite literally to the dance floor. Her desire to dance was at an all-time high as this was the most pristine dance floor she had seen in her life up to this point.

The floor was a soft bronze color with a high polish, it was the Kanto in the background on their soft colors and reflections which lit up the dance floor causing it to look like it was glowing a deep sunset orange that had her in awe.

The soft music playing and the couples all dancing slowly looked amazing to her. While it was a more of a formal type dance ball, she was not deterred from enjoying herself with Naruto.

She looked over to Naruto as she dragged him smiling and giggling as to her, he looked so cute with his smiling expression. He was not embarrassed by the fact he was being manhandled by her in public. She could hear the giggles of the women as they passed, who laughed at Naruto's situation in admiration.

She knew she had the village hero in her grasp, and she was not going to let go.

_'This is so amazing… thank you Naruto'_ thought Ino fondly as she gazed him with a loving smile. This was a date for her to remember.

"I hope you can dance Cheeks" she said as she reached the dance floor with him and allowed him to compose himself.

Naruto just looked at her with a sly look in his eye causing Ino to get excited and wear a grin back at him.

He held out his hand, to which she took it and he placed his hand around her waist and pulled her in close and looked her deeply in her eye.

"I practiced hard when I was growing up for this very moment beauty" he whispered back to her.

Ino looked at him deeply as his response played in her mind. She was following Naruto's lead as he instantly began to lead her in their dance together joining the rest of the couples on the dance floor effortlessly.

"What do you mean cheeks?" she asked him about his answer.

"I always wanted to be able to dance with a woman. Any woman… There were times I didn't think this moment would ever come. There were moments that I felt really alone…" he responded as he looked into her deeply as they continued moving around the dance floor in various gyrations following the music's tempo.

_'He felt… alone?'_ Ino thought in her head as she felt a pang in her heart at this side of Naruto she had never really heard from him. She had not really heard him talk deeply about himself before.

"I thought I would never be able to get past… that" he added lowly as he increased his hold on her hand, not too tight for Ino, but it provided her with feedback that this was hard for him to talk about.

She lightly squeezed his back with her arm she had draped around his shoulder in reassurance, providing support to him.

"Go on" she lightly said to him as she could see him look at her deep in thought.

"I thought for the longest time that being a Jinchuriki was a life sentence to always be alone, never being able to get close to someone" he said as he translated his thoughts into words.

"But you…" he said slowly as he looked back into her eye as he brought his gaze back up as he had previously turned it down in thought and somewhat in pain of the memories.

"You opened my eyes Ino-chan. You have no idea what that means to me" he said as he let go of her outstretched hand he was using to guide her with and pulled her in a deep hug again with his hands digging into her dress.

Ino felt wetness as she realized she felt a tear fall on her bare skin in the back of her dress on her exposed shoulder.

She pulled him in even tighter.

_'He's crying…' _she thought as she had never seen Naruto cry before. He always was brave, steeled, powerful, but never vulnerable to her. This was a totally new experience for Ino. She was now seeing a side to Naruto she didn't know existed. This titan in her mind, was human after all.

_'He's sharing his hidden emotions with me'_ she thought in a loving way of him as she brought up her hand and caressed the back of Naruto's head and dug her fingers lightly into his scalp and massaged him.

"Thank you… " he whispered back in a voice that sounded powerful in an entirely different way to her. She felt like it spoke from a heart full of love. Like she had opened a treasure chest that was Naruto's heart and she just picked up a jewel.

She pulled away slightly to look him in the eye and she could see his immense gratification casted lovingly back at her.

She didn't need to say anything in that moment.

She simply leaned in and gave him a long, deep… kiss. She poured her heart into that kiss and she let her mouth be guided by her emotions, and her heart.

"You mean so much to me Naruto" she whispered back to him as she embraced him again in a hug.

The pair stood on the dance floor as the other couples moved around them without batting an eye. Ino and Naruto were in their own little world in the dance floor bonding in such a heartwarming way, and it was on display for all to see.

Sakura looked at them as she felt sad, sad that it wasn't her in Naruto's arms, kissing him.

While she couldn't make out much of anything, she could tell that something significant had happened to the couple with the way they stopped and embraced like they did.

She looked on longingly as her date continued to talk away uninterested. Sakura felt like she needed to be saved from the situation she was in as she looked up from the couple that was the focus of her thoughts to the Matsuri in the background.

Ino and Naruto continued holding onto each other and she heard Naruto sniffle softly as she pulled away from him and she wiped under his eye lightly as she felt the wetness of his tears that had dropped down his face on her finger.

She laid a kiss lightly on his eye which he had closed as she got in close.

"You don't have to be sad Naruto, I'm here, and you are not alone. You have me" as she looked him in the eye earnestly and smiled.

"I'm just so happy" Naruto said as he looked at her still in awe at his situation.

That made Ino really smile, she made him so happy he even shed tears for her. Naruto could do no wrong in her book at this very moment.

Naruto and Ino continued to dance as they spun around the floor laughing and sharing in each other's dancing capabilities. It was clear to Ino that Naruto was no slouch at dancing as he was melding with her perfectly. She had formal training in dancing when she was growing up, and it appeared to her that Naruto had to. The man could dance as well as he battled it seemed. To say that Ino was turned on would be an understatement. Just how had she overlooked him when they were growing up, how very wrong she about him back then she realized… all that time.

_'I have him now, I need to focus on that, not on the past and how I was so wrong to write him off…'_ she thought to herself.

As Naruto spun Ino around he couldn't help but let his eyes linger to her wonderful bust and below when glimpses allowed him to.

A _'peek'_ which the ever vigilant Yamanaka Ino was not unaware of as she looked at him with a soft smile basking in his attention, even if he was trying to be sneaky about it. She was a woman, and she appreciated it when someone like Naruto, appreciated her form.

To Ino, Naruto's desire of her was something she had wished for and was receiving. Coming from Naruto that meant the world to her, as loyal and honest of a man as he was, she treasured that. It wasn't like some cheap guy just wanting to get in-between her legs, Ino knew Naruto since they were little.

She knew his character and how he would put his life on the line for his friends and loved ones without ever thinking twice or even dare hesitating. A man of action, a man worthy of her.

_'I can't wait to tell my mom…'_ Ino thought as she giggled to herself catching Naruto's attention as she saw his eye look back up into hers.

Yes, Ino would indeed need to tell her mom, the only other woman in Kohona that could gossip more than her, her partner in crime and master she learned it all from.

"What's so funny blondie?" Naruto asked huskily as he guided her in their dance.

Ino narrowed her eyes slightly at him, she remembered that nickname he used to call her when they were in the academy together.

"Oh, blondie now eh?" she asked raising her eyebrow for added effect.

"I couldn't help but notice that your eyes were wandering, why is that Cheeks?" she asked sweetly back to him giving him a loving little 'care stare'.

"They're beautiful" Naruto answered honestly, causing Ino eyes to open somewhat in shock.

_'…..'_ she couldn't really put her thoughts together as it seemed Naruto was directly talking about her breasts.

"U-Uh…. you mean, my…" she asked slowly leaving her question to him only partially finished as her cheeks got rosy, her confident façade now clearly crashing down. Ino always had a secret. As outgoing and flirtatious as Ino was, she was still very self-conscious about her body. She was so caught up in their date and the fun she was having she actually forgot about her little slip up to Naruto earlier about wanting him. She wasn't used to guys being so direct with her, usually they would cat call or beat around the bush so-to-speak.

Even though she knew the ninja population clearly had interests in her at all levels it seemed due to her looks, it was still something she secretly was not too confident about. She always tried to hide that fact about herself.

"Yes, your tits… they are amazing Ino-chan" Naruto let out lowly just enough for her to hear and clear as day as he looked her directly in her eye.

"I'm sorry for looking, but I couldn't help it" he added as he smirked at her.

Ino looked at him as she took in his words still trying to comprehend that he was being so direct here at the ball. In a way to her it was music to her ears, she was having an amazing time, and now he was turning up the tempo and her plumbing down below was starting to get wet in anticipation.

"O-oh, well maybe if your nice, I'll let you play with them later" Ino said in a very sultry voice as she started to kick back into her normal character after the slight shock. Even though she had gotten very intimate with Naruto before, he could still press her buttons it seemed, and in all the right ways.

Naruto just smiled at her when she said that, he knew he was in for a firecracker of a night.

"I would only be so lucky" he said later as they danced about the floor.

Ino smiled at him for his little compliment, grateful. He didn't let things get to his head, he could still be humble.

She leaned in and lightly kissed him on the cheek and giggled.

As they danced about the floor as the music changed, the pair were enjoying each other's company when both were interrupted from their thoughts of each other.

"Uzumaki-san!" rang out from near causing them to both look in the direction of the male voice causing them to stop dancing.

There stood the main reasons for the ball, the newlyweds, Oda and Kimiko Tanaka greeted the blonde couple as they got close.

"It is great to finally meet the village hero" said Oda happily as he bowed causing Naruto to bow in return.

"Thank you Tanaka-san, however I could not have done it without my training and comrades" Naruto said humbly causing Kimiko to giggle.

"Uzumaki-san, you are so modest" said the lovely voice of the radiant Kimiko as Naruto looked up to her and smiled along with Ino as she admired him.

"It's only the truth Kimiko-san" Naruto said back as he stood back up and looked back at Oda.

"Who is this beautiful woman with you?" Oda asked as he looked over to Ino causing Ino to go beet red again. She already had the eye of the village hero, but now someone as well regarded as Tanaka Ado, Ino was in heaven, this had to be a dream. Well except for the small fact that he was just married.

"This is my lovely date Yamanaka Ino, Tanaka-san" he said as Ino bowed slightly and the Tanaka couple returned the gesture.

"My word, she must be one heck of a woman to be here with you, the village hero" whistled Ado. This side of him both Ino and Naruto were not accustomed to as they thought he was a nice politician mostly, but not this informal.

"That she certainly is" Naruto agreed as he moved close to Ino and put his arm around her.

"Would you mind Naruto-san if I have a few dances with her?" piped in Ado as he smiled lightly. Ino's eyes shot open as she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Here was an 'elite' and he was asking to dance with her.

_'Thank you Kami!'_ she squealed in her mind.

Naruto looked over to Ino and could see the look of disbelief and joy on her face as he laughed to himself and smiled at the situation. Here he was, able to give her a heck of a night to remember, Naruto felt incredibly happy.

"You may Ado-san, just no funny business" replied Naruto as he smiled to Ado who bowed.

"Otherwise I'll have to let the radiant Kimiko-san straighten you out" Naruto quipped causing Kimiko to burst out laughing as she gracefully allowed her new husband to take Ino's hand and guide Ino away from her and Naruto.

Ino looked back to Naruto, in her mind she couldn't believe he was doing this for her. Naruto just smiled at her and mouthed "have fun" and winked.

_'Oh Naruto'_ Ino thought to herself ecstatically as she looked from Naruto to Kimiko, and then Sakura off in the distance at a table caught her eye.

She saw how sad Sakura looked from afar, unsure if it was because she was with Naruto or not, but she could bet.

This night was going too well, and even thought she has been very competitive with Sakura in regards to Naruto, she wanted her longtime friend to have a little fun tonight too. It certainly looked like she was not having any with Hiro.

She stopped Ado momentarily as she whispered something to him causing Ado to look over to the table he had come from, and over to Kimiko and Naruto.

Naruto could see Ado smile and agree to something.

Ino quickly ran up to Naruto and Kimiko to let them know about their impromptu plan.

"Ano, Kimiko-san, Ado-san thinks it would be a good idea to go and drag your relative over there into a dance" she said causing Kimiko to look over and see Hiro and Sakura at the table. Hiro talking somewhat to Sakura but not showing any signs of going to dance with her while the Sakura looked about somewhat sadly.

Kimiko rolled her eyes then looked back to Naruto and Ino and agreed as she started to make her way back to the table.

"Naruto" said Ino catching his attention as Naruto had looked away to Kimiko who was walking away as Naruto thought he would dance with her for the time being.

"Yea?" he said looking back to Ino.

"Do me a favor, go rescue Sakura over there from her slump will you?" she asked as she motioned her head in the direction of Sakura causing Naruto look back at Sakura and her date. He could see that Sakura certainly looked like she was not having a good time to say the least, Sakura wasn't even looking in their direction.

"Uh, are you sure Ino-chan?" Naruto asked somewhat cautiously as this seemed like an odd situation to him.

_'Since when would Ino want me to go dance with Sakura?'_ he thought to himself somewhat confused.

"Is this some kind of a test?" Naruto asked dumbfounded.

**_'BONK' _**

"Owwww, what was that for?" he asked as he rubbed the invisible bump on his head courtesy of Ino.

"No cheeks! The only test I'm going to give you is if you can get me o-" Ino said as she clamped her hand over her mouth looking back at Naruto somewhat surprised.

Naruto just looked at her with a raised eye brow, he clearly knew what she almost said, but this time he would save her of her embarrassment. He just wore a grin… a pervy-sage grin.

He walked away heading in Sakura's direction who was distracted talking to Hiro about something.

_With Hiro and Sakura…_

"So you do not want to go dance at all?" Asked Sakura incredulously as she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"No, I don't want to go dance, I don't like to" Hiro said to her drowning any hope that Sakura had to go dance on that amazing ballroom floor.

"Then why did you even bring me here?" she asked back somewhat upset.

"I wanted someone to accompany me" he said back as he looked at her.

"But that could have been anybody, why me?" she retorted.

"Because I wanted the most beautiful woman to accompany me" he said back to her as she looked at him, although not like someone who would take that as a compliment.

"And yet you won't go dance with me out there?" she asked again.

"No, having you sit right there is good enough" Hiro responded and smiled.

_'This asshole has some nerve…'_ she thought to herself as her anger was beginning to well up. Clearly Ino and Naruto were having a great time out there, yet here she was, a trophy for this asshole she thought darkly.

She wanted to clock him upside the head, but this guy was part of the Kohona elite. That would certainly be a punishable offense.

Sakura noticed Hiro's line of sight change from her to someone behind her and she felt a hand get placed on her shoulder causing her to look over and up to the person.

"Naruto…" Sakura said as she wasn't sure what he was doing here.

"Sakura-chan…"

There it was again…._'chan'_

Any bad thoughts Sakura was having just washed away immediately at that moment.

"Care to dance?" Naruto asked as he looked down to her.

Sakura couldn't believe it, her prayers had been answered.

"W-Where is Ino?" Sakura asked surprised, she had last seen them all over the dance floor, what gives?

Naruto looked at her for a moment then motioned his head out to the dance floor where Sakura looked out to and saw Ino dancing with Ado.

"She's out there dancing with him, what happened to you?" Sakura replied back as she watched Ino for a little bit then looked back to Naruto.

"Did something happen?" Sakura asked, wondering if something had unexpectedly went wrong between them, her heart almost hoped.

"No, but I noticed you here and asked myself what the heck the village's most beautiful Kunoichi was doing over here sitting at the table and not out there" Naruto said pointing out to the floor.

He left out the part about Ino mentioning to go dance with her as he knew Sakura needed a pick me up, he could clearly see it written on her face.

Sakura was still thinking about what he had called her..

_'He thinks I'm the villages most beautiful Kunoichi?'_ Sakura thought to herself as a myriad of emotions exploded out of her heart.

"Don't worry about Ino, she's out there having the time of her life" Naruto said as he looked out to Ino and laughed lightly as he could see her wearing a big smile as she dance with Ado.

"Excuse me, Uzumaki-san, but I am going to go dance with Sakura, she is my date tonight" came the voice of Hiro causing Naruto and Sakura to look over to him.

"Too late" was all Naruto said as he pulled up Sakura which Sakura could tell was in a subtle defensive fashion giving her some exhilaration at that thought.

Hiro stood up as if to say something, when Kimiko walked up besides Hiro.

"Come on cousin, it's my night and you owe me a dance, or a few" said Kimiko to Hiro who was blindsided by his relative. There was no room for argument; this was the woman of that night.

Naruto just smirked at him causing Hiro to wear a scowl as he then guided Sakura to the dance floor who was still trying to catch up with what was happening.

"N-Naruto, are you sure it's okay that we dance?" Sakura asked unsure about what Ino would think.

"Don't worry Sakura, I'll gladly wear a few welts for this" he responded without a second thought. He was unaware of how much that meant to Sakura.

Naruto then felt the warm, wet, touch of Sakura's lips lightly give a kiss to his cheek as he was turned looking in the direction of Ino who was aloof, basking in the night.

_'What the….'_ Naruto thought to himself as he immediately looked back to Sakura as he was not expecting a kiss from her at all.

Sakura wore a small smile as she gazed at him as they now were stopped in the dance floor as couples moved about and around them.

Naruto was having an inner battle in his mind, he was holding back as best as he could from kissing her right then. Sakura still held a strong hold on his heart, his own determination to go after Ino was being put to a serious test right now.

Sakura could see what Naruto was going through, she knew the way he reacted that he held feelings for her, and that was all she wanted to see as she pulled Naruto in close to dance.

Sakura put her head on his chest and clutched him closely as Naruto started to lead her around the dance floor.

Sakura wore a big smile as she hid her face from Naruto, she knew what she saw in his expression.

She knew that Naruto wanted to kiss her back dearly, and maybe this was her game she was searching for with him… a way to play back with him.

_'Got you…'_ she thought fondly to herself and her vindication that she had finally found a way, she could let him know how she felt while still playing with him.

Naruto steeled his mind as best as he could and tried to hide that brief break in his will.

_'I hope she didn't notice'_ he thought to himself about hoping Sakura didn't see his desire for her in that moment she kissed him on the cheek. He somewhat swallowed a lump in his throat.

As Naruto and Sakura danced they both got closer to each other and more comfortable. Sakura got more bolder in her moves as Naruto easily melded with her. It was clear that their teamwork extended beyond just their fighting skills together. They were acting as one on the dance floor as some of the couples even looked over to them as they moved about.

Naruto could hear the laughs of Ino as he would once in a while look over and see Ado and Ino in conversation as they danced. Meanwhile Sakura for the first time in a long time, was quiet since they had first started dancing. She pretty much had gone quiet after she had given him that small kiss. He looked down at Sakura as he guided her as she seemed to be in her own little world that he was along on the ride for.

"You okay Sakura?" Naruto asked gaining her attention as she looked up to him and smiled.

"Definitely" she answered immediately.

"Why are you so quiet?" he prodded.

"I'm enjoying this, now shush" she responded as she looked up and smiled at him letting him know she was perfectly okay.

Naruto just laughed to himself and continued.

As Naruto and Sakura danced they came close to Ino and Ado who looked over at them and they did the same.

Naruto nodded to Ado, as Sakura mouthed "Thank you" to Ino who wore a smile and winked.

The song they were dancing to came to an end as both pairs stayed near each other as the song ended and all the pairs eventually stopped dancing.

Naruto and Sakura were still holding hands even though they stopped. Sakura was enjoying the feeling of Naruto's hand in hers as she kept her armed draped around him keeping him close.

"Thank you for saving me there Naruto, I was about to put that idiot in the hospital" she said to him.

"What stopped you?" he asked.

"You… thank you" she said as she looked up to him and smiled.

"You can depend on me Sakura-chan" he said back to her as he looked her deeply in her eye with his own.

That statement caused Sakura to think about them in their pair, and how it felt to put her complete trust in Naruto to be there to help her. In a way, this was him doing just that when she needed it. She loved the feeling of that, and couldn't wait for more, and his whole undivided attention really.

She squeezed his hand and she then let go of it and slowly moved away from him ensuring that her other hand lingered on him keeping in close contact.

"You're a lucky man" said Ado gaining Naruto's attention as Naruto looked to him and bowed as Ado walked away to join his wife who had drug Hiro to the dance floor and kept him occupied.

"Can I have my date back forehead?" came the happy voice of Ino.

Sakura mock scowled in Ino's direction as she reluctantly let her hand fall away from Naruto, she knew it had to come to an end sometime that night, too bad that time had already come.

"Okay, okay" said Sakura as she stepped away from Naruto, but not too far.

"What are you going to do now Sakura?" asked Ino, the night was getting late and the ball was going to likely be wrapping up soon.

"Um, no real plans just go home, the night was incredibly boring up until Naruto rescued me" she said to Ino.

"What happed with Jiro?" asked Ino, causing Naruto to wonder too.

"He didn't try anything with you did he?" interjected the stern voice of Naruto ready to go beat some sense into the guy.

"I was just there as a pretty face" Sakura said slowly as she thought back to that creep.

"That little bastard" Naruto said angrily as he started to move away to only be stopped by Sakura's firm hand grasped around his arm.

"Don't worry about it Naruto, it's nothing I can't handle" she said to him as she smiled at him thankful at his protectiveness.

Naruto looked at her for a moment then nodded, he knew she was right, she could certainly handle herself - hell she could put him in the hospital.

"What about you two?" asked Sakura back to Ino.

Ino just wiggled her eyebrows at Sakura excitedly smiling causing Sakura to get a somewhat distant look on her face. Sakura knew what that expression meant, and she felt her chest knot up and her knees get weak as she looked back over to Naruto with a strange expression he hadn't seen on her before.

It lasted for a brief moment, and then it was gone as Sakura looked back to Ino, seemingly not interested in saying much else.

"It's getting late Cheeks, can you walk me home?" asked Ino gaining the distracted Naruto's attention.

_'What was the look for?'_ Naruto thought to himself about Sakura. He hadn't seen the expression Ino gave to Sakura so he wasn't sure what was going on.

"…Sure Lanky" replied Naruto after a moment of looking at Sakura as he turned his attention to Ino.

"I'll see you tomorrow Naruto" said Sakura as she moved in and gave him a hug goodnight.

Sakura then leaned in slightly and whispered into Ino's ear.

"Don't you dare hurt him, it will be the last mistake you ever make…" said Sakura in a low, alien voice only Ino could hear that sent shivers up her spine.

Ino looked back at Sakura surprised and could see the seriousness in her eyes, this was a different look than what Ino had seen before on Sakura. She looked like a different person all together.

The look was strong enough to let her know that Sakura wasn't playing around.

"….." she wanted to respond quickly but was stopped by the look given to her by Sakura, it made her seriously think.

"I… understand…" was all Ino could muster after a long pause, under the abnormally intense gaze of Sakura's that caused her to back off.

This was a totally different Sakura.

Sakura walked away thinking about what Ino and Naruto were likely going to do. She had no intention of going home that night. She would follow them, her Ni-Yurei resolve kicking in.


	20. Chapter 20 - A Night To Remember

Naruto was escorting Ino outside the Matsuri, and the pair had just gotten back on the street from the entrance.

Naruto looked over to Ino and noticed her subdued demeanor and was wondering what was going on.

"You okay?" he asked her, probing.

"Y-Yea… Sorry, I just had something on my mind" she answered back as she looked back up to him.

Naruto looked back into the Matsuri to where Sakura was previously when they started to leave and she was gone. Naruto scanned the crowd and could see Hiro at the table with his relatives and Sakura's seat was empty.

"Did you and Sakura get into an argument?" he asked as that was the next logical reason to pop into his mind.

"N-No…" she responded slowly.

"That doesn't sound too convincing" he drawled out in a low tone as he looked back down to her.

"…." the pair just looked at each other momentarily.

"Do you love her?" came out unexpectedly from Ino.

"…." Naruto did not want to answer that question, he didn't want to reveal his feelings to Ino, yet here she put him directly in the spotlight.

To Ino, this night was going so amazingly well, and yet she didn't know why she asked that question directly to Naruto. It completely swayed the vibe of the night once it left her lips as she could tell Naruto somewhat backed away emotionally from her, as if slapped.

She instantly regretting asking him that, both because of the situation it put him in, and also because she didn't like his answer. No answer to her was a resolute yes.

"What do you feel about me Naruto? Do you think you could love me?" Ino asked trying to change the topic and back track somewhat.

"I can feel love for you Ino, certainly…" broke Naruto's silence as Ino looked at him waiting.

The lack of the _'chan'_ as he often referred to her other than his nickname for her caught her attention, he was obviously thinking seriously.

"Our time together tonight, prior to this particularly line of conversation was amazing…" he said as he looked down.

"Myself and Sakura are complicated Ino, I don't quite know how to describe that situation…" he lamented as he himself was still confused on it.

"I want to love, I want to hold someone dear to my heart, me and her have a problematic history. Whereas me and you are different, we don't have problems like I did with Sakura. I never went chasing after you before and you never reciprocating…" he offered her.

"But also… I have a new responsibility to the village Ino, and I don't think it's going to make it easy for me to have a relationship…" he said slowly as he looked at her.

He reached out and took her hands in his… "I have to leave the village for a long time, and I really don't have an idea of when I will be back for any reasonable length of time" he added.

Ino looked down sadly as she broke his gaze.

_'His duty to our village… to protect me, and all of us…'_ she thought. _'He has to sacrifice his happiness for the village' _Ino certainly realized the sacrifice he was having to make.

"If you were in the village, would you think we could have become something?" Ino asked after taking some time to think about what he said. Her heart hurt about his admissions or inferring of his feelings about Sakura. But she had to be honest with herself, he always had it out for Sakura. But now, they seemed to be distant in that regard, not together, and he wasn't chasing Sakura anymore.

_'But you are going to have to go away for a long time Naruto… I… I would be lying if I said I didn't want to be with you, and love you'_ she thought sadly to herself.

"Yes…" pulled her out of her sad line of thought.

It started slowly with a small almost invisible turning up at the corner of her mouth, but slowly spread into a big smile.

"Do you really mean that?" she asked as she looked up at him wearing her smile.

Naruto simply leaned in and kissed her as he brought up his hands cradling the back of her head lovingly.

"Absolutely Ino-chan" he said as they parted lips allowing him to gaze into her eye with his as their faces were still close.

He ran his thumbs softly over her cheeks as he looked into her eye and at her face.

"This has been the best night of mine that I could remember Ino-chan" was all he needed to say as he smiled.

"I…. I finally found a woman that could love me… and I have to go away now that I found you…" he said slowly and with a clear hint of sadness to her.

Ino wrapped him in a hug and kissed him softly.

"That's why I want to be with you tonight cheeks. I want to give you a part of me to take with you out there… I want to show you how I feel about you, and I want you to know that you are not alone, never alone…" she said slowly yet passionately to him.

Ino looked into his eye unwaveringly as she opened her heart and her thoughts to him.

"I-" was all he could get out as Ino put her finger on his lips silencing him.

"Shhhh" she said to him and hugged him as the crows moved about them.

She took Sakura's advice carefully, she was not wanting to hurt him much less suffer Sakura's apparent wrath. She wanted to love him. Although it would seem that she would not get that chance with him having to leave the village, she could give him her love in a special way.

_'I can at least give myself to him, and I can be with him, we can cherish that together, that memory'_ she thought to herself both in excitement and in a somewhat melancholy way. It was bittersweet in a way, such a wonderful man would have to leave her soon and for who knows how long at that…

_Flashback…_

"Cherish the time you have now sweetie, you never know when you're going to be looking back on the moment with it being in the past wishing you could go back to it; don't live to have regrets…" Ino's mom told her as they were talking about Ino being a ninja.

_End Flashback…_

_'I will not let myself regret anything with him'_ she thought fondly of Naruto.

Naruto held out his arm for Ino to which she gladly threaded her arm through in return allowing Naruto to begin to lead her as they started to walk.

In the shadows of the top of the buildings as the blonde pair walked was the form of Sakura. She silently flowed along the buildings keeping pace with the pair from afar. She could not lie to herself, she was beginning to feel jealous and hints of anger at the thought of the pair walking down to some destination her friend likely had in mind for Naruto.

Sakura stopped and kneeled down on one knee as she momentarily lost interest in following the pair as she let her feelings swirl out of her chest. She felt like her chest was going to constrict and crack unless she let these feelings out.

Pain, anger, and jealousy flowed out in more force. Her thoughts were of the blonde Yamanaka.

_'Is this what it means to love someone? To wait for them despite having to watch them do something like this?'_ she thought to herself harshly as she grimaced and a slight tear slipped out and down her cheek.

_'Why do I even want to put myself thru something like this?'_ Sakura asked herself as she searched her memories for reasons.

She thought about how she chased after Sasuke back before he left the village. And how she ignored Naruto the whole time and his constant attempts to ask her out, or even just talk to her.

Her grimace faded to a look of sadness on her face as her eyes became heavy and half-lidded.

_'Naruto pursued me for many years…..years… he tried so hard and for so long. It's not my right to complain about having to deal with something like this when he bore that for as long as he did'_ she thought as she remembered his perseverance.

_'He even told me that time that he was okay with Sasuke making me… happy… in that way'_ as she remembered how Naruto told her he realized it was Sasuke she loved at the time and whom she had wanted. Naruto had stepped aside and supported her desire in trying to bring him back for her, despite knowing that she would probably give herself to Sasuke the first chance she could if that had really happened.

_'I…'_

_'I need to step aside in this moment, and let him be happy, like he had done for me all those years…'_

_'I need to prove my worth to him.. unwaveringly.. if I am going to win a chance at his heart again'_ she thought resolutely as she found her own answer from within herself.

_Near Naruto's Apartment…_

Naruto and Ino slowly walked closely together with Ino's head leaning on Naruto's shoulder as she had her arms wrapped around his as they walked.

"I can't help but notice Ino-chan, but we don't seem to be anywhere near your house?" Naruto said in a low voice.

"You sure? You were the one supposed to be walking me to my house cheeks?" came the demure voice of Ino.

"Uhhh, I was kinda following your lead?" Naruto offered hoping that would clarify Ino's question.

"Hmmm, yet here we are, ending up by your house. Why is that?" she quipped back as she looked up at him finally catching his eye and smiling.

The pair looked at each other.

Ino winked up at Naruto causing Naruto's suspicions to be confirmed.

"I see…." he whispered back as his eye closed in suspicion at her gaze.

"Oh?" replied Ino as she raised her eyebrow in question.

"You are not the real Ino-chan, but in fact a disguised Sakura trying to get into my pants?" he replied as the air immediately went dead silent as he finished his theory.

When Ino-chan didn't blink he started to sweat.

"…"

"Naruto"

"Yea?"

"_You are so dead_"

_'Did he really just say that to Ino?'_ Sakura asked herself as she crouched in the shadows on top of Naruto's apartment complex as she was puzzled why Naruto would say something like that, especially at a time like that.

It was clear to Sakura what Ino was doing, or more specifically where she was leading him to and why.

_'Why would he think I would do that?'_ Sakura thought incredulously at the thought. With Naruto, Sakura was always very straight forward. It had never occurred to her to do anything like that to him.

She watched as Naruto bolted and Ino immediately followed in hot pursuit.

_'Shit'_ Sakura thought as she crouched further into the shadows and concentrated all she had on hiding her chakra signature to minimize her chances of being noticed by either of the ninja as they ran about.

_'Oh shit, why did I have to go and think something like that at a time like this…'_ Naruto panicked in his mind as he ran about trying to keep Ino at bay who had the look of a predator on her.

"You know I was just kidding r-right Ino-chan!?" Naruto practically yelled as he ran.

"Of course cheeks, that's why I am just trying to catch you to give you your reward!" she responded laughing with a crazy look in her eye.

Secretly in Ino's mind, she was excited at trying to catch Naruto, she did have plans for him, and she was sure it wasn't what Naruto was thinking, which considering the situation made it pretty funny to her.

"Come on cheeks will you slow down already, your making me work up a sweat and not the good kind!" she yelled at him.

"No way! " was all Naruto could muster as he bounded on the building top next to his apartment thinking Madame Death was right behind him.

_'You've got to be kidding!'_ Ino screamed in her mind, she wanted to catch Naruto, and he was seemingly intent on keeping up this cat and mouse game. She had long tired of this game about 2 seconds after it started as she really did want to get her hands on Naruto.

This delay was getting her incredibly ancy and she was just about fed up.

Naruto was desperate to try to outrun Ino. Ino was known in the village as one of the fastest natural runners and although he was not using Chakra to enhance his running capabilities he was feeling her slowly gain on him.

While most of his thoughts were that he was impressed, the small part of him that was dominating his mind was telling him to try to stay away as he figured she would pound him to a pulp like Sakura used to.

_'Can't blame her, especially for saying something as stupid as that to her'_ he thought to himself dumbly as he previously had genuinely thought that was what was really going on. He thought Sakura had momentarily pulled a fast one on him and had caught him a Genjutsu.

She had done something similar to him before when she was first trying her Genjutsu on him as he made a great mental _'punching bag'_ so-to-speak and helped her improve drastically.

He bounded his way up his apartment to the roof and could practically feel Ino's breath on the back of his neck.

"I'm going to catch you cheeks" was whispered low enough it seemed to be next to his ear.

_'SHIT!'_ Naruto thought as he saw an opening on the roof top around the corner he has just turned. As at that moment he began to channel chakra into his legs to give extra capability to make a desperate jump off the apartments to down below in a bid to escape in one of his impromptu escape measures.

"GOTCHA!" yelled Ino as she jumped in the air behind him and about to land on him ready to wrestle him to the ground.

Naruto ran to the ledge of the roof ready to jump and had just went to plant his feet when he hit an unexpected barrier of some sort that he did not see there.

"W-what the!" was all he could get out as his body was sent flipping forward to the walkway below as the _'wall'_ he hit sent him forward with his momentum from his brief Chakra enhanced running.

"AHHH!" was yelled by Ino as she realized Naruto was now flipping forward after tumbling over something and she was now along for the ride.

**_CRASH!_**

"OOOF!" was all Naruto could growl out as he ended up face planting and skidding on the walkway courtesy of whatever flipped him over. He didn't have much time to ponder as he could hear the yell of Ino's getting closer extremely quick as he realized she was right behind him still.

**_THUD_**

Ino's body crashed on top of Naruto's and rolled off as Naruto slid to a halt still face down in the dirt.

Both ninja's just laid there in momentary confusion trying to make sense of what just happened.

Small giggles began emanating from Ino's body as she looked over to Naruto's form just laying face down in the dirt.

Naruto could hear Ino's giggles and started to let out small laughs of his own. The situations he could find himself in…

_'It appears something, somewhere has a heck of a sense of humor'_ Naruto pondered as he took in his predicament and what just transpired.

"You… okay Ino-chan?" Naruto asked as he rolled over and opened his eyes looking up at the night sky laughing.

Ino got up and brushed herself off as she walked over to him and crouched down next to him as she began wiping of his face of the dirt.

She could see cuts in his face from where he really did a painful face plant as he laughed it off with her.

"I'm fine cheeks, it appears you need some help though" she said as she continued her efforts to help clean him up.

"Care to help me in my place?" he asked as he looked up at her as she wiped his face down.

"I'd love that" she responded with a soft smile causing Naruto to smile as well.

The pair got up and walked up to Naruto's apartment as Naruto opened the door for Ino and led her in and closed the door behind him.

Ino looked around his apartment as she was genuinely interested in the things he had strewn about. He used to be a much messier person when he was younger, but she could see that now he was tidy and his house was in order.

She looked at pictures of Team 7 and of Sakura separately that he had on his mantle. She also saw a picture of the 4th Hokage and a red headed woman that she paused on.

She heard Naruto sit down in the chair in his living room as she turned around to look at him and could see his cuts clearly now on his face and she immediately began to walk over to him.

"Let me help you with those Cheeks" she said as she saw he had a wet rag in his hand and she took it from him and began slowly wiping his wounds on his face.

She sat down on his legs to make herself comfortable and close to him as she focused on cleaning his face and wounds.

"Do you have any medicine so I can apply some on you?" she asked as she wanted to take care of him as this situation evoked different emotions from her than when she was chasing him.

"No, don't worry Ino-chan, I don't need that." he said as he relaxed with her sitting on him and brought up his hands around her waist to hold onto her.

"Why?" she asked back.

"Don't you remember?" he hinted back at her.

_'What is he talking about?'_ Ino thought to herself as she looked at his cuts.

She saw them start to close as if mending themselves.

"Oh" she mouthed as she caught on to what he was talking about.

She remembered how back when he was younger she once saw one of his wounds hissing as red chakra oozed out of it and it seemingly fixed itself completely.

_'Kyuubi'_ she thought to herself as she watched his wounds close slowly without any hissing this time or seeing red chakra.

To her it was still as fascinating as when she first saw it when Sakura was trying to help him during the time Orochimaru had attacked the village and he was injured.

She watched as his wounds completely disappeared and rubbed her fingers lightly over the areas that were now just his smooth skin.

"They didn't make any sounds this time, nor glow that red chakra like before…" she mumbled to herself as she spoke her mind out loud.

"That wasn't Kurama that healed me" he responded as he noticed she refocused on him as if slightly startled.

"Kurama? It… has a name?" she asked slowly as she processed what he had said.

"Yes, the Kyuubi's name is Kurama" he confirmed for her.

"How did you learn that Naruto?" she asked genuinely wanting to know. From her information in the intelligence division, there was no information about the various tailed beasts.

"I…" he started as he stopped as if pondering whether to continue.

"I've already said too much, it may be dangerous for you to know that Ino-chan, I have to keep that… to myself" he finally finished as he looked down away from her more content at focusing on her attired.

"But… I'm part of the intelligence division Naruto… you can confide in me" she offered to him as she wanted to let him know that he could tell her things and she would keep it between them.

"Thank you, but… this goes beyond that" he said as he looked back up at her confusing her. She looked at him understanding that this topic was probably not the greatest thing for them to be discussing and she refocused her thoughts on what he said earlier.

"You said the Kyu-…. Kurama… didn't heal you, what did you mean by that?" she asked as she thought back to her original train of thought.

"My body… it is able to heal itself differently than before, it no longer uses _'that'_ chakra" he said as he looked at her.

"What do you mean Cheeks?" she asked even more confused by that.

"Something is happening to me, I don't understand what at this point… but I have noticed that my healing is different" he said as he though back and recalled this aspect about his body.

"Different… like how?" she asked as she tried to make sense of what he was saying. The medical jutsu's she was trained with as part of the intelligence division for special missions emitted a green glow, like Sakura's own medical jutsu's, but this was different as she recalled there was no glow.

"I… will it to heal, and it heals" he said as he looked back down as he shifted his arms around her as she sat on his lap.

"Will it" she repeated aloud sounding more like a question. "Wow" she added as she was genuinely surprised at that revelation. She had never heard of anything like this before.

"Is that like a new form of… medical jutsu?" she asked as she tried to speculate how that could happen.

"I… don't know at this point, I just know that over time I have become more aware of it" he finished as he felt her hands get placed softly on his cheeks catching his attention.

_KISS_

Ino pulled back from Naruto after she kissed him slowly and passionately and looked into his eye as she ran one of her hands into his hair.

"You keep continuing to surprise me Cheeks" she said as she smiled and slowly leaned in again to kiss him as he got a small smile on his face and closed his eye to continue kissing her.

Ino finished the kiss and got up from his lap and pulled him up with her. She started heading to his bedroom leading him by holding his hand as she looked back at him.

"I have a surprise for you to give for once" she said in a low and sweet voice as she smiled softly at him.

Naruto's heart jumped at the look she had given him and the sincerity in her voice, he was burning this experience into his mind, he wanted to remember this more than anything.

_On The Roof Top Across From Naruto's Apartment…_

Sakura rubbed the part of her side that Naruto had collided into causing him to flip over her. And she looked over to his house where she could only imagine at what was going on between the two as she felt the pain of that thought.

She sat down on the ledge of the building with her legs hanging over and just looked off in the direction of Naruto's apartment. She could only imagine being in there instead of Ino as she thought about how the two ran around. She remembered when Naruto used to chase her, and in that moment Naruto had finally gotten what he wanted.

_'Someone to chase him'_ she thought as she looked on longingly as a tear welled up in her eye. Not for herself, but of happiness for Naruto in that moment. She saw how genuinely happy he looked.

For a moment she was pulled from her thoughts as she noticed a figure walking up to Naruto's door to only stop as the figure approached Naruto's apartment. She focused and could tell it looked like a woman.

She jumped down off the building moving in closer while masking her chakra as she moved in the shadows. She saw the figure turn around and head in her general direction.

Her eyes widened when she recognized who it was as the person was illuminated by the lamplight as she passed under.

She could see the Byakugan deactivate.

_'Hinata'_.


	21. Chapter 21 - Deja Vu

Naruto couldn't help but stare. He stared at her as if time had stopped.

Hinata's cries could be heard in his ears. She was looking at him directly in the eyes, and her breath hitched with her sobs.

Tears running from her eyes as he studied them careful. He was lost in a combination of lavender, tears, redness of her eyes and the sounds of her pain. Not like a pain from a wound, but from that of a great betrayal.

Pain, fear, madness stirred in Naruto's mind. He could hear the roars of Kurama in his mind, as if it turned into a feral animal. In that moment something was abnormally wrong with the Kyuubi compared to those times of torture Kurama used to put Naruto through. The roars were as if the Kyuubi was wronged just like Hinata that lay before him.

Naruto's emotions erupted from him through his rage and anger. Not directed at her, but at himself. For a moment, his thoughts of the roars in his mind of the Kyuubi's and his own feelings were muted.

He looked into those lavender eyes and screamed out as loudly as he could fueled by his anger.

"HINATA!"

He felt a pair of hands grab his face as he continued to peer deeply into Hinata's eyes.

"NARUTO!" he heard in his ears as he felt those hands squeeze harder.

He was no longer peering into Hinata's eyes, but now he could see the clear concern in Ino's as she looked startled and concerned at the same time as she focused on him.

"Snap out of it Naruto, what's going on!?" she asked startled as she saw that his eye focused on her.

"I…" Naruto stammered as he stopped himself as he then looked around to find himself in his bed with Ino.

"I saw Hinata…. she was crying… "he slowly stated as his brain cleared out of a sleep induced fog.

"I yelled out to her" he continued as he realized he had now awoken Ino from what appeared to be a dream.

"You must have had some kind of nightmare cheeks" Ino said softly as she moved one of her hands softly through his hair to reassure him.

_'But why would he have a nightmare about her?'_ she thought to herself.

Ino finished her train of thought and look back at him as she watched him with concern as she could see a myriad of emotions racing across his facial features.

_'That night…'_ Naruto thought as the anger that was now apparently in his dream was just as raw as it was now in his chest. His emotions carried in full force to his waking self.

Naruto shut his eye harshly and dropped his head down into his hand as he could still feel Ino's hand in his hair as her other dropped to his shoulder.

"What is wrong?" Ino asked lightly as she could tell he was going thru something.

_'I can't tell her, not like this…'_ he thought to himself bitterly. Naruto didn't want this to be brought up right now in this moment. After the night he spent with Ino, it was perfect, it was everything he could dream of with being with her. But this, this was not something he could talk to her about, at least not now.

Naruto opened his eye and looked at Ino and just looked at her as he could see her concern.

_'What would she think of me if she knew what happened with… Hinata'_ he asked himself.

"I…" he paused to think. "I was just having some kind of really bad dream about her" he said slowly. "I don't know why I got so worked up over it" he left hanging in the air as he looked back at Ino.

_'Was he just having a really bad dream?'_ Ino asked herself as she listed to him. _'But he seems really affected by this'_ she continued her line of thought.

"I.. think you got so affected by it Naruto… as we all know how much your precious people matter to you" Ino responded as she looked at him to reassure him. She smiled at him softly as she definitely was very aware of this fact. To her, it made sense that he would get so worked up about a very close friend of his.

_'I haven't seen Hinata around Naruto in a long time'_ she thought as she tried to recall the last time she had seen them together. That part did seem odd, as in the past he would be around Hinata when he wasn't with Sakura.

_'I can go talk to her to see if something happened between them…'_ she thought to herself.

"Yea Ino-chan" her thoughts were interrupted by his agreement.

"It was just a dream. I'm sorry I awoke you" he said back softly as he pulled her in for a hug. A hug, that Ino noticed lingered longer than others. She wrapped her arms around him and she put her head on the nook in between his head and shoulder.

"It's okay cheeks, I'm here for you" she responded as she could feel his hug tighten when she said that and then loosen after a short while.

Naruto was thinking of Hinata. Thoughts of her had been silent for a while as he was around both Sakura and now with the spark he had originally found in Ino. He closed his eye as he ran his hand through Ino's hair softly as she would occasionally let out very light moans from his caressing.

_'Hinata'_ he thought as he could still picture her face so vividly.

A new emotion welled up within himself at his thoughts of Hinata.

_GUILT_

He realized what he did last night with Ino, and what he had done previously to Hinata. He began to feel embarrassed, and even disgusted.

He felt as though he had conveniently forgotten about Hinata the moment Ino came into the picture. While Sakura was clearly showing feelings and desires for him, he couldn't help but think of Hinata when he thought of Sakura in any form of sensual or erotic type of way. While some thoughts would come up about Sakura, issues brought on by re-emergence of emotions or memories regarding Hinata would quickly follow.

_'And now it extends to Ino'_ he thought sadly. He could tell he would not escape the feelings of what happened to Hinata by being with anybody else.

_'I have to talk to her'_ he thought regarding Hinata.

He looked down to the form of Ino in his arms and he couldn't bring himself to think of last night. It was something he would always remember, but he didn't want to think of it in this moment with thoughts of Hinata.

_'If I do that, it would ruin that memory'_

Naruto understood that he would have to confront this massive chasm in his mind that represented Hinata, otherwise it would be impossible to say if those types of dream wouldn't continue, or if he would be able to be with any woman without that burden on his mind.

Naruto looked over to his clock. It was just past 4 AM.

_'I need to go for a walk'_ he thought as he looked over to Ino and noticed her breathing was back to that of her being asleep.

He gently laid her down back on the bed and put the covers over her.

He slowly got out of bed making an effort not to disturb her. He quietly got back into some civilian attire and as he walked out of his room he paused and looked back at Ino.

He watched how her chest would rise and drop as she peacefully breathed. A small smile formed on his face at some memories of what she told him while they were together last night.

He raised a single finger and a shadow clone came into existence. Not with a normal _POOF_ that was usually attributed to his technique. Sakura was teaching him finer Chakra control, and with that he was realizing that if he aligned his chakra spike to his manifestation of the technique that it was seamless. He still couldn't do this with the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu as that was to still too difficult to synchronize to that scale, but small amounts he could.

The clone wearing his previous lack of clothes except for underwear got back into bed with Ino.

Ino's form melded with the clone's as the clone wrapped its arm around her as it got in a spooning position which she gladly accepted in her sleep. With that Naruto walked out of his apartment and into the fresh and slightly cool early morning of the village while it was still draped in darkness as the sun was not yet near rising.

Naruto walked around the village aimlessly as he was lost in thoughts of Hinata, and how he could try to approach her about what happened. They have had only momentary run-ins with each other, and Naruto in those times of his life didn't run after the person trying to make things better.

_'I cowered'_ he thought of himself as he judged himself.

That went against every fiber of his being, but this was the real world, it wasn't as easy anymore to say something vindication and then just be determined to do the _'right thing'_.

Naruto had learned a new lesson in humility.

He stopped walking finally when he noticed out of the corner of his eye a figure of a woman lying on a bench under a lamp post. He looked over to see it was Sakura of all people.

His eye slightly widened as a sense of Déjà vu hit him.

He looked around and realized he was in the spot Sakura was originally knocked out by Sasuke when he left the village, laying on the same bench.

He blinked a few times to make sure this wasn't another dream, and slowly walked up to the sleeping form of Sakura.

A familiar feeling of being at home overtook him. While they had so much baggage between each other, this was his teammate and his comrade, and his bond in the Ni-Yurei. Nothing mattered more to him as that was of the absolute and supreme importance.

All things would always be secondary to her and their mutual commitment; that was their oath. Naruto was failing at a personal level with how he was handling Hinata, he would not fail in this too. This was his chance to absolve himself of his own _'cowardess'_ he felt with a tremendous vindication.

He took off a layer of his civilian clothes and placed it over her to ensure she would be warm as he could make her while she slept on the cold bench.

He sat down next to her to stay at watch as she slept. The thought had crossed his mind to take her to her home, but he decided against that. Whatever reason got her onto this bench tonight, it seemed especially important that she had found herself here.

_'She was probably thinking about Sasuke'_ he thought to himself as he was trying to think of a significance that could explain the situation. That seemed to the most likely to him. Whatever it was, he would be beside her, that's all there was to it.

_An Hour Later…_

Sakura groggily woke up as she was pretty uncomfortable on the bench. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around unfocused as she tried to make sense of her surroundings. Her eyes moved around until they came upon the back of Naruto's form next to her as she focused on him.

He was not looking at her, but she could tell he was looking off into the distance as if at watch. His head would momentarily scan around at different parts in the area.

She didn't move her body but instead just looked at him. She also could tell she had a light fleece of Naruto's on her acting as a cover.

_'He's keeping watch over me'_ she thought as she looked down at the layer he had placed on her.

She closed her eyes for a minute as she went to laying back down to enjoy this moment, it wasn't something she was expecting to wake up to. Her memories of the night coming back into her mind and the reason she was out here.

"You ok?" she heard Naruto's voice ask.

"Yea" she responded lightly.

"Why are you here?" she asked as she did wonder why he was here and not with Ino.

"I could ask you the same" he responded as he turned back to look at her with his eye, of which she could tell, had a soft expression on it.

"But it doesn't matter, next time tell me when you're going somewhere to end up like this" he added in a light tone.

"Why?" she said as she looked at him with interest.

Naruto just studied her for a moment.

"Your my bond, wherever you go, I will be there with you" he said in a voice Sakura only heard him speak in when he was fighting a staggeringly strong opponent and was just about to overpower them.

Her eyes widened as the hairs on her neck tingled and a wave of excitement and pleasure shot thru her body.

_'bond'_ she thought of what he said, and what she was to him. Something stronger than family, they would share in death as they would share in life, just like they would share in battle, and companionship. While it was somewhat of a morbid thought, it excited her to no end. She was to him, something that nobody else could be.

She knew what he meant as well, if she was going somewhere that would be questionable, or in some way she would need him, he would be there with her no matter the situation. It wasn't a literal hounding by him.

"You probably could have picked a better bed to sleep on" he added as she refocused on him and saw him nod over to a patch of soft looking grass.

Her eyes lids lowered quite a bit as she wore a bit of a scoff. She couldn't argue with him, he did have a point.

He just smiled and looked away.

_'I could have been sleeping with you'_ she thought to herself as she couldn't suppress it.

She slowly stretched to work out the kinks in her body. She put on Naruto's fleece jacket to keep her warm as it was still cold and mostly dark.

She looked up on the horizon to see the color of the sky had changed from darkness to twilight as the sun hid off beneath the horizon compared to last night.

"Seemed like you were having a great night with Ino, you didn't have to come out here just for me" she jokingly remarked back at him as her attention came back to him.

He just smiled at her and looked down and sighed.

"I had a bad dream about Hinata last night, it's happened here and there, but it seems to be getting worse" he let out.

Sakura's joking smile disappeared as a slight concern replaced it.

_'I wonder if that event is affecting his mental stability'_ she thought. She had seen it all too often in the field about post-traumatic stress disorder.

_'But Naruto has been in very high death risk situations in battle, how could… THAT affect him like this if those situations didn't?'_ she thought. She couldn't bring herself to call it a rape. Not with what she had heard from Naruto about it.

She put her hand on his shoulder to show her support of him.

Naruto debated on telling Sakura, but this was the only person he could really confide in. She knew about what happened with Hinata. He needed to vent.

"I was with Ino last night" he let out slowly as he was slightly apprehensive about it to Sakura as he didn't want to hurt her although there was no way this could not.

Sakura felt like she was punched in the stomach and the wind knocked out of her. The pang in her heart was strong enough to involuntarily cause her to tighten her grip on Naruto's shoulder.

**_CRACK_**

Sakura's eyes opened wide as she realized what she did.

"Ohh-"She stammered.

"It's okay Sakura" Naruto said forcefully as he took the pain. In a way this was like him taking a punishment for the pain he had caused to Sakura.

"I deserve this" he added.

"What!?" he heard Sakura say.

"For hurting you" he said as he looked over to her with his eye and leveled it at hers.

She was going to say something but he held up his hand to motion her to stop before she said anything.

He looked her dead in the eye. "I'm sorry for hurting you Sakura". To Naruto, he needed to start soon with making amends with what he could. Both with her, and with Hinata, she was here at the moment so he would start with her.

Sakura didn't know what to say, she fought the tremendous urge to look away from that powerful gaze. She knew he meant it as it made her body feel weak.

The two looked at each other unwaveringly only blinking every so often. One finely focused, and the other comprehending what was said, and how it felt to her.

_'He acknowledges my feelings, and that he hurt them'_ she thought to herself.

"I forgive you" she said as she pulled him into a strong hug as she shut her eyes hard.

Naruto returned the embrace as hard as he could as well given the circumstance and only slightly grimacing due to the pain of a broken collar bone thanks to her grip. He could feel her emotions of immense elation from her with this connection to her.

**_THUD_**

Sakura felt a small pulse in Naruto's body that accompanied the sound. She discarded her thoughts around it to focus on the elation she was feeling still, that was more important.

In Naruto's mind he was thankful his body repaired itself as he willed it. At least the hug was not painful anymore.

"Thank you Sakura-chan" he whispered only causing her to embrace him harder.

After a while Sakura finally let go of the hug but stayed very close to him. She wiped away any moisture that threatened to fall out of her eyes before it actually happened.

As they sat there in silence, Naruto thought back to their original line of discussion.

"I ended up waking up to a nightmare about Hinata" he said out of nowhere catching Sakura out of her thoughts.

"Is it every time you sleep?" she asked.

"No-"he was interrupted by her next question. "Is it affecting how much sleep you can get?" she said as she looked at him trying to gauge his thoughts.

"When it happens like that, yea" he answered truthfully. It has been somewhat dragging on him when it has happened.

"I have been thinking of trying to talk to her" he said in a low tone.

Sakura just looked at him as she was trying to determine if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Based on Hinata's reaction she had seen last night and what the two talked about when she tracked her down as she left Naruto's, that might not be a good idea.

"I don't know Naruto…" she started trying to figure out a way she could try to explain what the two had talked about.

"I have to do something Sakura, what happened to her was wrong, and I need to fix that… somehow" he said back with some determination.

Sakura thought back to Hinata's pregnancy results and she was seriously debating on telling Naruto as he was her bond. He should know. But she also thought that something like that should come from Hinata, not her.

It put her at conflict from her medical profession and a duty to privacy, or to her bond with her teammate which should be of the utmost importance. Naruto was showing her that he was there for her considering how he was there when she woke up. But yet here she was at a conflict to let him know.

"Naruto…" she said as she looked back at him as he waited on her to continue. She was still having an inner turmoil.

"It's okay Sakura, I am just venting… I am eternally thankful that I can confide in you…" he said as he didn't want to make her feel pressured in having to say something. And in fact this was the truth, he was just venting. It was liberating to get this stuff out of being pent up inside himself.

He just smiled at her and looked off into the distance away from her at the colors on the horizon.

Sakura on the other hand was both grateful and upset with herself that she didn't tell him about Hinata's pregnancy.

_'I could destroy his eye to save his life… But I can't tell him something that would change his forever… likely for the better as he would have a child to look after'_ she thought bitterly as she knew how strongly he wanted a family over even being the Hokage.

She looked at him and shed a tear of pity for him. That it would come to be the way it was going to, he deserved so much better than that she thought.

The two sat in a comfortable silence for some time.

She wiped her face once again; who knew being a ninja would be like this.

In her own mind an image of the scalpel driving into Naruto's eye flashed in her mind as his scream reverberated in her head. She closed her eyes tightly trying to shut it out. One figure floated to the center of her attention with malice.

_'Danzo'_

"Check it out" she heard Naruto say as she opened her eyes to see him look off at the rising sun.

She joined him trying to clear her mind as he had seemed to.

"A new day Sakura, we have little time remaining in the village, we'll need to get prepared to travel and meet Baa-chan" he said not looking at her.

"Do you have an idea of where we need to go once we are out of the village?" she asked.

"Not yet, but I'm not sure we're going to be micro-managed like that. Ero-sennin was left to his own devices out there; it was up to him to determine where to go and how to best run his net".

"Do you have any idea of where you would want to go then in that kind of situation?" she asked.

"Yes, I need to find his body and get his scroll back, his contacts are hidden in it" he said as he looked back over to her.

"And… I would like to give him a proper burial" he added as he continued to look out into the expanse of sky. After a moment he then turned to her.

"Unless… do you have any other ideas Sakura about what we should do?"

"Not yet, I have to get an idea of what kind of network he had out there to better determine where we should consider starting. We'll go with your idea first, I agree that he needs that" she said with a soft expression on her face.

Naruto nodded and returned to looking at the rising sun.

Sakura was still smiling, glad that he asked her. She liked it when he wanted her opinion, it wasn't that she cared when others did it, but when he did, it was important to her. It made her feel like he needed her, considering as strong of a ninja as he was.

"You're the brains, I'll be the brawn" he said in a joking tone to her, causing Sakura to smile wide and start laughing. That sounded perfect to her.

"You sure you can be the brawns? You're the one with the shoulders made of glass" she quipped back as she smirked over to him demurely.

Naruto instantly looked over at her with a sharp eye brow… The corner of his mouth slowly formed a smile unable to not hide his amusement at that one.

"Anything breaks under those mutant hands of yours" he said not willing to back down to her.

**_TICK_**

"What was that?" she said sharply instantly in predator mode.

Naruto looked at her unwaveringly.

"Those M-U-T-A-N-T hands of yours can crush just about any piece of my body" Naruto said as he focused on slowly grating out the mutant part in case she misheard it, which he knew she didn't. He was determined to get a rise out of her.

"JUST ABOUT!?" she shouted as she was ready to go in full Sakura rage mode, it has been a long time since she had done that.

_'He's been long overdue'_ she thought mischievously about the prospect of beating him up like she used to in the old days.

"THERE ISN'T ONE PART ON YOUR BODY MY HANDS CAN'T CRUSH!" roared Sakura as she was exploding chakra into her frame ready to put up a good fight with Naruto.

Excitement and adrenaline exploding thru her veins as she smiled wickedly.

**SHANNARO!**

She leaped at him fully content with bashing at his torso with a massively chakra enhanced drop fist. She knew long ago to not hold back with him, he won't hold back with her.

Naruto raised his finger and smirked.

"Oiroke no Jutsu" Naruto called out as Sakura's eye's widened.

_'Oh no'_ was all she could think of in that moment.

Comprehending what was about to happen, she tried to steel herself for the vision of Naruko with long pigtails, or a brunette, or dark hair woman she sometimes would see Naruto use on males.

In an explosion of smoke a naked Naruto stood with only an incredibly small piece of smoke covering his shaft.

Sakura's eyes couldn't help but focus on his groin area and she saw his pubic hair and could see the edges of his shaft that the smoke wasn't covering and her mind completely shut down.

Naruto was fighting dirty this time; he pulled out the big guns and she was not expecting him to use himself. He never had before.

**_CRASH_**

Sakura ended up diving into the ground in front of Naruto as her mind was momentarily broken. The image of the parts of his shaft she could see was burned into her mind. Something she didn't want to forget, but beyond that she wasn't able to form coherent thoughts.

Once she slid to a stop in the dirt the dust floated away as the cloud she made dissipated, she could see Naruto's feet.

**SMACK**

Her head shot up as she felt as her ass check jiggle as it was just struck strongly and it seared in pain.

Her eyes widened even larger.

_'OH KAMI NOT THAT!'_ she screamed in her mind.

She shot her head around to look behind her in her very exposed state on the ground.

She saw Naruto looking back down at her as he stood over her.

The Naruto standing over her from behind just winked with his one eye.

_'A SHADOW CLONE!'_ raced in her mind.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" she screamed as she immediately rolled over and grabbed her panties beneath her skirt and ripped them off without a further hesitation.

She threw them at the clone and flipped away off the ground with chakra exploding thru her legs and arms in desperation to put distance between her and the clone that was about to explode.

The clone caught the panties and then immediately dispersed causing them to start falling to the ground again.

The real Naruto caught them with one swoop and looked over to Sakura who had already put a good distance between herself and him ready for the explosion.

He looked at them, put the torn piece of clothing in his pocket and looked back up at her.

"Sorry, I kinda forgot to attach this" he said as he produced an exploding tag out of his pocket.

_'NO WAY!'_ she screamed in her mind

**SHANNARO!**

Naruto couldn't help but think of Might Guy opening the sixth gate as he rocketed off with nature enhanced speed courtesy of his sage mode. After all, that is exactly what she looked like as chakra exploded from her as he looked at her in sage mode. He pulled out his signature mode as he knew he would need it with what he pulled.

_'Let's see how much of my chakra she can use now'_ he thought to himself as he smiled running.


	22. Chapter 22 - A Little Too Far

_'Kami, I really might die today'_ was all Naruto could think as he ran as fast as he could through the village feeling the presence of a certain kunoichi behind him.

Naruto stole a glance behind him as he ran.

A pink beauty was in the center of his vision. Her emerald eyes focused intently on him as she wore a smirk of satisfaction. Naruto couldn't help but look at the way her hair flowed at the speed she was carrying. It was amazing to him how much she has improved with their training together.

Sakura was completely focused on Naruto as she saw him glance behind him as his lone eye looked at her.

She could see a hint of admiration in his eye and it gave her a tremendous feeling in her chest.

She focused on her chakra, squeezing every last bit of efficiency out of her usage of it, to stick to the ground, to strengthen her muscles as she pushed off as she continued to accelerate. She kept time in her mind with her body and strides she was making.

She wanted nothing else but to catch him.

Up until the moment she saw the admiration in his eye, she wanted to beat him into a new level of lack of consciousness for the stunt he pulled on her.

_'I never expected him to use that kind of Oiroke no Jutsu… I should know better with him'_ she thought to herself trying to suppress a giggle at the sheer through of it all.

She has been training hard in her speed to aide in her combat abilities; she wanted to be as prepared as possible for her missions with Naruto. And it looked like it was paying off to her with the fact that she was gaining on him.

_'Damn, she is putting our combined chakra to good use!'_ he noted as he tried to eek out any more chakra to his legs to help his cause; unfortunately he was nowhere near as good at handling chakra so delicately. All it did was cause him to overpower his traction and start to slide in the dirt as he tried to accelerate away as he couldn't focus the control to such a minute level to gain that extra efficiency like Sakura was clearly capable of doing.

He turned back to look in front of him to figure out his next move and catch his slipping by stabilizing himself with his hands as he needed.

Naruto's eye scanned the village as it flew around him. He tried going over buildings and vaulting around corners, it didn't seem to faze the pinkette any, and worse; her distance was closing in even more thanks to his earlier slip ups.

_'Naruto'_ he heard a demure whisper in his ear signifying the proximity of Sakura.

_'Shit!'_ he thought excitedly _'if we're going to fight, might as well do it somewhere out of the way'_ as he started to bolt off into the direction of the Hokage monument.

He felt Sakura hand touch the top of his back behind his neck and slowly glide down towards his mid back where it lifted off.

_'She's toying with me'_ he thought aloud as he did get a small smile on his face. He didn't want to admit it, but he did like the attention Sakura was giving him.

As the running pair approached the face of the monument Naruto reached back quickly to get an idea if Sakura was still that close to him.

He was met with feeling the fabric of her top and what he could of sworn felt like the underside of her breast that he just blindly grabbed.

"Keep digging your grave deeper baka" was his only affirmation of what he felt was what he thought it was.

Sakura was slightly caught off guard by Naruto reaching behind him but did nothing to stop what he was obviously going to blindly touch. She loved seeing his tense posture as he was realizing that he was digging his hole ever deeper.

Although his little hand rub did serve to turn her on a bit at the thought of him being the one doing it, even if by mistake….

_'Hrm' _

Naruto jumped up to the face of the cliff of the monuments and started to run up it clinging to it with chakra. He could feel her right behind. He watched with intent as the ledge of the cliff at the top came into view as he maneuvered between the 4th and 5th Hokage faces.

He immediately leapt up onto the cliff edge once he reached it and spun around facing the village waiting for Sakura to immediately appear ready to intercept her.

_Silence_

_….._

Naruto grew uneasy at the fact that she did not appear. He slowly leaned over the edge to peer down expecting her to be there ready to attack.

_Nothing_

_….._

_'What the?'_

"Naruto" he heard from behind him causing him to stiffen straight.

He felt an arm wrapped around him under his with the palm on his chest.

_'I can feel his heart beat… its racing'_ she thought to herself as she got a genuine smile.

She was letting her feelings doing the talking for her from that look he gave her earlier which really struck her and sent her emotions ablaze.

He looked down to see it was Sakura's hand.

"How in the heck?" he began "Genjutsu" she said simply.

"Your terrible at it baka" she said as she giggled behind him.

_'When the heck did she create it?'_ he asked himself as he tried to think of the instigator…

The feeling of her hand going softly down his back earlier caused his eyes to widen.

_'That was it!'_

She pressed up against him and he felt her breasts on his back through her attire as she brought her other hand underneath his other arm and slid it over his stomach to just above his pelvis.

"Uh… it seems you got me in quite the position here Sakura" he let out as he involuntarily gulped.

"Do I now?"

"Y-Yes"

She started rubbing his upper pelvic area with her right hand slowly causing him to grow a little uneasy, not because it hurt, but because it was her, and it was turning him on a bit. He felt his member start to slowly grow which he tried hard to stop through trying to bury the feelings of attraction he was feeling.

"You seem to have quite the fascination with my panties Naruto, why is that?"

"B-Because…"

"….yes?"

"you know how I have always felt about you….and your scent is the most…beautiful"

Sakura stopped rubbing his upper pelvic area.

"My… scent?" she said as she couldn't quite believe what she was hearing. Her adrenaline shot thru her system as she realized what she was about to do.

"Like… my…body?"

"Yes…"

"What part of it?" she asked as she removed her hand from his pelvic region.

_…. A few tense moments passed for Naruto_…

_'Should I bolt?'_ he thought as he considered going into sage mode and slipping away.

"Um…" Naruto said as he noticed Sakura's hand appear in his lower vision and rest right below his nose.

He involuntarily inhaled at the position of her finger under his nose and was immediately hit with the private scent of Sakura. Not the perfume she wears which he does like a lot. But her natural scent.

_In Naruto's mind the Kyuubi's eye shot open as its ears dropped back on its head in an aggressive posture…_

**_GRRRRRRRRRRRR_**_ echoed in Naruto's mind as the Kyuubi was brought into a powerful state as it looked at a figure. _

"You mean this?" she asked in a very womanly voice.

Her desire was burning through her body as she made this bold move. She had stuck her fingers in her wet vagina to coat them in her 'scent' as Naruto had described it.

She had hesitated for split second before she did what she did, but she felt it was worth trying.

**ROOOOOAAAAARRRRRRR** _exploded in Naruto's mind as the Kyuubi slammed its own Chakra into Naruto's seal forcing its way into his main chakra network, a desperate measure to try to counteract the figure_.

**OBEDIENCE… DEMON…**

Sakura felt an animalistic feeling come from Naruto, it was powerful and intense. It was like that other times she had felt something come from him. She could see ebbs of red chakra seeping out of Naruto as if it was evaporating from his body.

Naruto immediately spun around in her arms surprising her.

Naruto was a blur in Sakura's vision as she couldn't even have time to focus on him at his sudden change as she felt Naruto's arms embrace her tightly.

"Na-" was all she could get out startled before Naruto embraced her with a deep and animalistic kiss downing out whatever she was going to say as she immediately wrapped her arms tightly around him returning the kiss with as much intensity.

Sakura reacted on instinct as this was something she always wanted of Naruto, to openly be kissed like this, with such intensity.

The couple fell onto the wild grass of the top of the monument below the shade of a tree as they continued to kiss deeply.

Sakura was moaning into Naruto's mouth through the kisses gasping for air as they would briefly part to breath.

"N-Naruto"

In a brief moment, pain radiated from her pussy as she immediately realized that Naruto had rammed himself into her as she felt his member stretch her body around his shaft which was forcefully pushed in with one swift motion. Her wetness from her highly turned on state made her body put up no resistance to Naruto forcing his way in.

'_W-Wha…'_

Startled, Sakura hissed in pain as she was not expecting it at that moment. Naruto buried his head into the crook of her neck with his mouth somewhat by her ear and she could hear his pleasure escape his body once he was inside her.

Naruto moaned gutturally into her ear and started to thrust hard and deep as Sakura could feel his member thrusting in and out of her as she could hear her wetness make noises as he thrusted. Each thrust was painful as her hymen was broken with that initial forceful entry but also held pleasure at the same time.

Sakura was slightly moaning and more so verbalizing pain as Naruto thrusted. Naruto's hands were digging into the back of Sakura's head and into her hair as he was thrusting as hard as he could as each thrust brought him intense waves of pleasure that he hadn't felt since like the first night he originally thought he was having sex with Sakura.

"Na-ru-to" he heard in his ear as each syllable hitched with his thrusts as waves of pleasure built to a massive pressure in his pelvic area and shaft.

Sakura couldn't believe the situation she was in, it was raw, and completely unlike what she imagined this moment to be like. It felt good at some parts, but at the same time it hurt really badly. Her pain threshold was reached and surpassed and her body was starting to involuntarily pull away from Naruto's thrusts due to the pain. She was starting to squirm under Naruto's as she tried to get his attention.

_'T-this hurts too much… I-I need to stop t-this…' _she thought as she winced with each thrust.

Naruto felt the waves from his thrusting reach a point he couldn't hold past and with one last deep thrust he exploded in pleasure.

"SAKURA" he let out loudly in her ear as he held onto her tightly as he buried himself into her as deep as he could.

_'OH NO… NOT LIKE THIS'_ she thought to herself as what just happened hit her full force.

"Na-"she started but stopped as her thoughts were interrupted with what she started to feel.

Sakura felt a wave of heat build inside of her as she felt Naruto's member pulsing as she heard him moan in her ear.

She felt his member inside her slowly stop pulsing after a short time and the heat fade and she felt Naruto shaking as she listened to him breath heavily.

_A feeling of immense fear was starting to bubble in Sakura's mind; her previous turned on feelings recoiled as she realized the risk of pregnancy and it brought her back to her senses like a cold bucket of water poured on her. _

Naruto's face rose off her body so she could see got a brief glimpse of his red tinted eye fading back to an ocean blue. She couldn't place it but something didn't feel right.

She held her gaze on his eye as she started to feel various emotions arise that ranged from surprise, to shock, to feeling somewhat like she had been taken advantage of. It started as a fun game between them, but it went too far, too fast, and she was not ready for it, and now it was already done.

He looked at her and he could see her eyes watering and a tear drop slowly.

"S-Sakura" he let out slowly as he brought his hand to her face and cupped it as he looked her in the eyes with his lone one.

"N-Naruto… I'm sorry, I didn't think it would happen like this" she said slowly as she realized she herself was starting to cry.

"D-Did…. I hurt you?"

Sakura looked down as she couldn't hold his gaze. This wasn't the way Sakura wanted to lose her virginity. She wanted it to be much better for… him and her. In a way she felt she was not ready for what just happened and she couldn't stop it.

_'I…I can't tell him'_ she thought as she was trying to hide the fact that he did hurt her, but what she didn't say verbally, he could see clearly physically.

She looked back up at him sadly…

_'Is… this how Hinata felt? Did something like this happen?'_ she asked herself.

"I…. I'm … so sorry… Sakura" Naruto said as he looked at her with a deep sorrow in his eye that replaced previous feelings of pleasure.

_'What have I done…' _

He slowly pulled himself out of Sakura, and Sakura felt his semen slowly start to ooze out of her as it ran out of her lips and down her butt between her cheeks.

_S_he put her fingers into her vagina and pulled them out along with Naruto's fluids as she had recalled that pleasant feeling in the midst of all that pain.

_'That was why it felt so warm…' _as she idly watched as she felt the liquid on her fingers by pinching them together and moving them around.

_'Why… do I feel this way? I love him…. I wanted to be the one that bears him a child… but now that it happened like this…. this was not the way I wanted it to happen'_ she thought to herself somewhat shaken by her own feelings and how they seemingly switched. Some tears were still coming down from her eyes.

_'What should I do'_

Her thoughts lingered on her fear of getting pregnant now; now that it was really a possibility she realized in a way she didn't want it, she wanted to be as away from that looming feeling as possible.

"I… I'm scared… Naruto" she admitted after the two sat together in silence trying to piece together what happened.

"Of… me?" he asked in a low voice as he looked down at her with his eye showing only despair.

"N-No… I'm scared of… getting pregnant" she said as she looked up at him.

_'I… must apply that'_

Her hand glowed as she placed it over her uterus and a seal emerged on her body that Naruto could barely see underneath her clothes through some uncovered spots.

She started to cry after she applied it, she was so scared she applied an anti-pregnancy seal to ensure she didn't get pregnant. She felt like a part of her was weak in doing so, like what she previously felt about Naruto and what she wanted to bear for him was a lie she made to him; if only an internal one in her mind as she had not yet expressed those thoughts to him.

He watched as it glowed for a while and then faded till he could not see it any longer.

Naruto knew what it was though, he has seen it applied in the field before, especially in the brothels with his travels with Jiraiya.

He felt in a way he was a disgrace to Jiraiya, the gallant perv would not have resorted to such a thing.

All he could offer was a hand on her shoulder that he slowly turned into pulling her in to hold her.

"I'm sorry Sakura, I made a big mistake…. doing that" he said as he listened to her sobs.

Whatever feelings there were for her sexually immediately died in that moment and were replaced by the worst amount of guilt he had ever felt up to this point.

_'I…. forced my way with her….'_ he thought darkly trying to understand what caused it in him. He thought back to those quick moments as it seemed like a blur to him, almost like he didn't have control of his own body.

_'I lost control….' _

He vowed to bury those kinds of emotions for her deep within himself where they would never see the light of day. He could not live with himself as it was with what he just did, he couldn't allow that to happen again with her.

He failed his best friend, and the most important of them all which she meant the world to him.

"I failed you Sakura"

This caused Sakura's cries to slowly stop and look at him.

"I put you thru something that I had no right to. I lost control of my emotions, and it caused this kind of harm to you" he said as she saw his eye reflect a side she never seen before. She saw the life literally leave his eye to be replaced with something much more serious and intense. She watched as Naruto changed before her eyes.

"I… took you against your will, and I harmed you despite taking the vow to always be there for you, someone you could always depend on… I stole that trust"

Sakura could only look at him and see how with each word he spoke, a piece of his own personality seemed to fade away. When he finished that sentence, all she could see was a stormy blue in that eye, and it held a gaze of pain.

All Sakura wanted to do in this moment was go home and try to make sense of what happened. She thought back to what she did with her scent and how he had reacted. It was like it awaked something within him. It was almost like the Kyuubi was controlling him by how animalistic and raw he seemed to react.

"Naruto… take me home please" was all she could say, as honestly, that is where she wanted to go, away from this moment. She wanted to keep him close by though, she could see that something about him was changing in a way that she didn't want to even consider. The loss of a bright Naruto was a scary thought to her, as much as what had just happened.

_Flashback_

"What was your most important lesson you learned while out in your travels with Jiraiya-Sensei?" she asked him as she was getting re-acquainted with having Naruto back in the village after he returned from his training with Jiraiya-sensei.

"Endure"

Sakura looked over to Naruto in question at his single response.

Naruto looked over to her. He could see other people in her face, victims of rogue ninja's as they pillaged small settlements, killed the men and children, and raped the women to only kill them after. He could see those women's faces in place of Sakura face as he looked at her.

"We must endure… to be there for those that need us most"

He turned away and walked off slowly without a word more as she watched his form retreat.

Naruto was in a far off place in his own mind as he walked away from Sakura. He was walking through the dead bodies re-enforcing his own need to be strong to protect those that couldn't protect themselves.

This was a side of Naruto she hadn't seen before in him, such a somber side.

_'What happened to you out there Naruto?'_ she thought back to him and what he had said.

_End Flashback_

Naruto said nothing further, he just stood up and helped her stand up as she hissed in pain and had her hand over her vaginal area. It was still very much in pain from what had just transpired.

She could feel Naruto's semen running down her leg as her standing position caused most of it to start coming out of her body due to gravity. She looked down to see it dropping on the blades of grass beneath her as she then closed her eyes as she felt Naruto take her into his arms and pick her up bridal style.

_'Why do I feel like I was wronged in this situation… I was part of it'_ she thought as she shut her eyes tightly and put her head on Naruto's chest as he vaulted off in the direction of her house.

_'He would never purposefully hurt me like that'_

Her feelings were wildly swinging between her love for him and he pain by what he did, two equally powerful feelings at odds with each other.

_'But why did he react like that…'_

Nothing about this situation was clear to her. She wanted to retreat from life for a moment to get her bearings. In this moment she did want to be alone with what happened between them, she felt like she needed at least a little space to think for at least a brief moment without him being a distraction. It was obvious to her she had underestimated something about him with what happened.

_ 'Did the Kyuubi take over him?'_ she thought back as she remembered how she could see some if its chakra seeping out of his body.

She thought back to when Naruto had really lost control fighting Orochimaru and had injured her with a chakra tail when she tried to get Naruto to stop his attacks and further transformations. That to her was completely out of control, but when they were having sex earlier, it wasn't near that level of seeming loss of control.

Unable to identify any solid possibilities there, she turned her thoughts to her feelings of Naruto.

_'Could I resent Naruto for what happened?'_ she asked herself truthfully as she also probed for a real answer.

_'No'_

_'But something happened there, something that caused him to flip a switch…'_

She thought back to Naruto's enduring memory as it seemed so fitting in this instance now for some reason. Some solid thoughts formed in her mind; since she was part of it, it was something she would have to deal with for herself and for him. It was looking more like a cause and effect type of situation to her as she compared what she did to him, and how he reacted.

She would later have to try to understand the whole mechanics behind it, but at the moment she didn't want to keep thinking about it.

She thought to the guilt she held for having to stab Naruto in the eye for their Ni-Yurei indoctrination, and yet she could now somewhat sympathize with him as he was obviously feeling terrible about what he perceived he did to her.

_'His eye for my innocence'_, they both now took something of each other's away.

To Sakura in a weird, morbid kind of way it was almost like an 'evening' of the score as she always felt a lot of pain for having to originally hurt Naruto like she did. It was somewhat of a relief to her in a way - he wasn't this unrealistically God-like person that was incapable of mistakes.

She realized that her brain was trying to rationalize what happened and put it into some kind of context she could understand and help Naruto at the same time. She still loved him, it may have been a mistake, but she felt like in a way he got back at her for what she did to him with his eye.

A normal person would think this line of thinking would be absurd, but in their world where a lot of terrible things happen, they both have always been there for each other and hold special feelings to each other. Her mind was starting to see it as a trade of sorts; whatever the cause, a victim mentality or something else.

_'It happened, there is no going back, I… I can only continue to look forward for him… and me'_ she thought as she focused on the feeling of Naruto bounding on towards their destination back to her apartment as an attempt to distance herself from her thoughts at the moment.

It didn't help as she tried to invoke a thoughtless state, but failed as one simple word played in her mind.

_'__Endure'_


	23. Chapter 23 - Awake

"Sakura..."

Sakura couldn't tell how much time had passed, she had gotten lost in her thoughts about enduring. She opened her eyes to see that they were now outside of her apartment.

Naruto slowly lowered her allowing her to adjust as she adjusted her posture to ease her discomfort. She got her keys and opened the door as she could feel Naruto's presence still next to her.

_Click_

She unlocked her door and cracked it open before stopping as she slowly turned her head around to look back at the figure of Naruto slowly. She was concerned for him and how he was taking this, but at the same time, with the turmoil in her own mind, she didn't want to start talking about it.

She noticed he had turned away from her with his back facing her.

_'He can't even look at me, he knows how I feel…'_ she thought.

Naruto's face was scrunched in a very strong showing of anger as features like his eyebrows, and lips twitched with each wave that he was experiencing.

Sakura continued to gaze at him momentarily as she could start to feel emotions seeping from him.

_'Such anger, is this what… Naruto is feeling right now?'_ she asked herself as she realized like those other times, she was being a dousing rod to his emotions. Before when it was a tingle, an ebb of some sort in her chakra that was centered squarely on Naruto, she could only tell something was going on with him. But now she was having a clear grasp of what he was feeling.

She could see his shoulders twitch slightly and it was confirmation that what she was feeling from him was in fact correct.

_'Is this centered at me?'_ she asked herself as she continued to try to decipher the feelings that were cascading across her body originating from within the chakra in her veins.

…

_'No… he is feeling this at… himself'_ she confirmed as she slowly realized the feelings.

She had the urge to reach to him to try to stop this train of thought he was clearly having and she raised her hand to grab onto his shoulder.

"Are you going to be okay tonight?" he asked without looking at her.

This caused Sakura to stop her action at it was clear he was making sure to verify she would be okay as it was laced with the intent to leave.

"Y-Yes" she answered slowly.

"Remember tomorrow…" Naruto was making a step to leave as this stopped him as listened to what Sakura had to say.

"We need to get prepared to leave the village" was all she had to say to remind him.

"I'll come get you" he said as he turned to look at her with his lone eye.

Sakura looked at the familiar red cross shaped eye which reflect the state of his anger she was feeling off of him, and thru her chakra.

"Okay" she said as she watched him then disappear as it was clear he was off to somewhere, though of which she didn't know.

She let him go however; she needed her time to think things over as she walked into her house and shut the door, but only after lingering momentarily and looking at where he was standing before he faded away.

_A Clearing Away From The Village_

Naruto re-appeared as he had used his sage mode to transport himself far away from prying eyes. With his anger he realized the extent he could push his sphere of awareness was even more extended to a large degree.

His anger turned to focus as he wanted to try something and he needed to clear his mind as best he could for it; he opted to turn his anger into clear and powerful intent.

He slowly lowered to the ground and placed his finger on it as he then felt nature seep in from the ground. In the past in his enhanced sage mode he realized that his attunement with nature seemed to be getting stronger and stronger.

As he felt more beings in the open air with his perception it offered him, he noticed that when he paused to take a moment and he was in contact with something either inert or somehow directly linked to nature like the ground that it seemed like he was fed information from it.

He had an idea that this was maybe how sensor's picked up on chakra signatures, or at least the principals being similar. When he put his finger on the ground and feel the nature energy seep in, he didn't feel like there were any sizeable presences around with chakra.

When he felt a small signature in the vicinity he used his nature perception to lock on to it and see it, however it was just a squirrel in a tree. But to him it did seem that his feedback from his connection to the ground helped him triangulate to see something that was otherwise normally out of his ability to perceive with his nature based vision as anything beyond a certain range he didn't see, only the landscape like his naked eye could see.

This lack of presences around that he couldn't feel with his connection to the ground or see with his nature perception made him think the area was clear, and 'safe'.

_'I can't see her'_ he thought to himself as he noticed he couldn't see the visage of Sakura, but he could feel her, and tell what direction she was in. _'I must only be able to see her about the same distance I can transport myself within'_ he thought as he realized this.

He stood up and walked over to be under a tree by the side of a cliff, and he sat down as his strong focus looked within himself now as he closed his eyes.

He appeared in the sewer like opening in his mind in front of the bars that contain the Kyuubi.

All he could hear was the sounds of the dirty liquid covering the ground and the breathing of the kyuubi which he focused on and followed the sound of the breathing to the outline of the Kyuubi within the cage.

The sight of the Kyuubi enraged Naruto as he knew this was the reason behind what he did to Sakura, and he put all the blame on the Kyuubi for it.

He focused hard on the Kyuubi and let his anger speak for himself as also allowed his natural energy to intermix with his anger and focused intently.

Kurama felt an extremely strong presence of power as his mind awoke from the slumber it was in. The presence literally started to pull him from his lack of consciousness as his own demon spirit is attracted to power and naturally gravitates towards it to claim it.

Naruto saw Kurama's eye open up and look directly at him and focus.

_'You'_ was all Naruto said in his mind as he wanted to direct his awareness of what happened earlier back to the Kyuubi.

**_'YES?'_** Kurama growled as he refused to get up from the ground, an involuntary showing of domination on Naruto's part due to the amount of power he was outwardly seeping.

_'You caused me to do…'that' to Sakura'_ he said angrly.

**_'I MERELY SPED YOUR LACK OF INIATIVE ON, I'VE RAN OUT OF PATIENCE WITH YOU AND HOW BENT OUT OF SHAPE THAT WOMAN CAN MAKE YOU'_** he responded as he raised up to look down on Naruto as the undeniable soft spot that Naruto had for Sakura reminded him that Naruto is not all powerful, and to be feared, at least for himself as a demon.

'Lack-' Naruto started to growl back.

**_'YOUR SUPPOSED TO BE THIS STORNG NINJA, YET YOU MAKE WEAK MOVES AROUND HER. YOU TRY TO HIDE IT AND GO CHASING THE TAILS OF SOME OTHER FEMALES, WHEN THE ONE YOU WANT IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU. YOUR WEAKNESS IS SOMETHING I CANNOT TOLERATE, AND SOMETHING THAT IF I HAVE TO TAKE CONTROL OF AND FIX…. I WILL'_** Kurama barked back as he towered over Naruto looking back down on.

Naruto focused on the last part of his reasoning with particular intent and worry. Because it was pretty clear that the Kyuubi was successful in controlling earlier with Sakura.

_'I WON'T LET YOU CONTROL ME!'_ Naruto shouted anew as a new wave of power emerged from him and hit the Kyuubi.

Naruto made a move to walk up to the bars with his intent to go past them and fight with the demon, something he had not done before.

**_'ROOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR'_** hit Naruto from all sides as the Kyuubi roared forward up to the bars in a completely aggressive and ready to fight posture.

**_'GO AHEAD AND CHALLENGE ME, YOU BETTER BE READY AS I WON'T LET YOU LEAVE OUT OF HERE WITHOUT EITHER YOU BEATING ME, OR ME TAKING CONTROL OF YOU'_** the Kyuubi threatened with every intent to live up to it.

The Kyuubi's raw power hit Naruto like a bomb from all sides and was trying to crush him down to the ground, as if forcing him to kneel.

Naruto's focus and channeling of his anger reached a state where his face went blank devoid of his previous scowls of anger with only a slight, but very clear posture of anger left as Naruto felt the ground beneath him crack as the sewer water started to fall into the cracks as continued to stand and withstand the pressure.

The Kyuubi had never seen any mortal withstand his full anger like this, the Uchiha had always overtaken him and dominated him with their sharingan, but that was not comparable to this where in this moment Naruto's own power, was out powering the Kyuubi's and withstanding.

Naruto thought about the prospect of trying to beat Kurama to the point he could overpower him, but in this moment he was not sure he could do so. And the prospect of the Kyuubi getting out of control was a more pressing concern over his own anger of what he wanted to do to the Kyuubi. He had to think about everybody else that would be affected if he failed.

_'You made me harm the person I love the most in the most brutal way'_ Naruto let out as he made the choice to not risk fighting the Kyuubi.

**'I ONLY PUSHED YOUR URGES ALONG… YOU DID THE REST'** Kurama growled back as it remained in its posture should Naruto attack.

Naruto only looked back at the Kyuubi as those words from the demon sunk in.

**_'BE GLAD YOU WERE THE ONE TO BREAK HER, AND NOT SOME ENEMY NINJA'_** the Kyuubi added.

**_'YOU NEED TO MAN UP, OR GIVE UP… THIS IS NOTHING…'_** Kurama added as one last little piece of wisdom to Naruto.

This went nothing like Naruto had expected. In his anger he wanted to fight the Kyuubi, but had to take pause when it got more serious than he believed as he did feel like he was getting close to Kurama. But it was clear now of the gap still between them. There was still a demon within him, within demonic tendencies and power to back it up.

Naruto had underestimated the influence Kurama could have on him.

_'THIS IS NOTHING…'_ Naruto hung on those words and knew the Kyuubi was right in this fact. He had seen how brutal ninja could be out in the field, but it didn't make him feel any better.

This was a lesson to Naruto, and a very hard one at that. He still wasn't in control of himself and he would need to be stronger to eventually be able to. It was now clear that he had a ways to go.

Naruto looked back at the Kyuubi who was still looking on at him.

_'Some day… I will gain control of myself'_ Naruto said cryptically to the Kyuubi.

The Kyuubi however understood the meaning as he sat back down on the ground. It meant that Naruto would someday have to fight him for control of himself, but the Kyuubi didn't know what that meant for himself and what would happen with him and Naruto.

Naruto at this moment did not know how he will be able to defeat the Kyuubi and take full control of himself, but he knew that he would have to, to stop further harm to those around him if he lost control.

**_'OH? AND HOW WILL YOU DO THAT?'_** the Kyuubi chided as he kept his gaze on Naruto intently.

_'With the help of those I can count on'_ he said as he thought back to Sakura and how close they were, even despite what transpired. Naruto turned around and started to walk away from the Kyuubi.

The Kyuubi's eyebrows slightly raised as he was expecting some answer about power like the predecessors of Naruto all said. They always tried to do everything by themselves, however Naruto was taking a different approach. In a way this intrigued Kurama as it was something different.

**_'THAT'S GOING TO BE A SHORT LIST CONSIDERING WHAT YOU DID TO… HER'_** the Kyuubi mocked.

Naruto stopped and gazed back at the Kyuubi as he heard the demon laugh. He would have to prove the demon wrong, and anyone else that stood in his way.

Naruto's consciousness came back to the real world as he thought back to what transpired in his mind.

Being within the village the last week allowed him to be in the presence of comfort an easy life away from the battlefields. He knew that once out there more things like what happened between him and Sakura were bound to transpire.

He thought back to his wanting to find real peace in the world and how he would have to undertake in a journey into unknown darkness to find the light out there.

He sighed at the weight of such a thought. On the behalf of the village he will have to conduct missions of unknown violence for keeping the peace. But he understood one thing very clearly, it was no just about the village but it would have to encompass the world as peace for some doesn't allow for a truly peaceful world.

He also thought back to the demon and having something like that in the world meant. An embodiment of evil, malic, pain, carnage. Yet he knew Kurama is capable of other emotions and feelings, Naruto wasn't so fast to write of the demon like so many people would write him off growing up.

Naruto knew there were two sides to every story and he'd have to eventually find out that from the demon himself.

Naruto for now stood up and started back on his way to the village following the feeling of where Sakura was.

_Back In the Village_

Naruto arrived back at the gate to the village after a couple hours of travel. It appeared that his transport when under the influence of anger took him quite a far ways as he had suspected. He thought back to Sasuke and Sasuke's own anger and how it seemed to cause him the ability to perform powerful jutsu's to an overwhelmingly powerful state when in battles.

"Naruto" he heard causing him to look over and break him out of his thoughts as he took in the form of Sakura.

"Where did you go?" she asked as she walked up to him.

"I went to go… talk to the Kyuubi". "What are you doing out here, it's late?" he asked back.

"I wanted to make sure you came back home" which caught his attention as she said it like she meant with her. "Home… like you mean with you?" he asked.

"Yes" she nodded which made him feel a little better but still a little apprehensive. "I thought you were in the village, but when I went to go look for you I realized you weren't" she added.

"Come on, let's go home" she said as they walked together back to her apartment.

When they got home they sat down in her living room.

Sakura looked into Naruto's eye and could still see that stormy blue. It had only been a few hours since he had disappeared, but to her that was enough alone time to think about what happened.

She had accepted that what had happened wasn't just caused by Naruto as she originally instigated it and it had just spiraled way out of control. She couldn't fault Naruto for that, and she didn't want to if he had all been started by him. She loved him, and for him to show her that attention meant a lot to her, albeit it was never maybe how she wanted, but she did get it.

She had to grow up, she got what she wanted and fantasized just in a way she may not have liked it to be. Nothing was perfect in the world and that was reflected here full force. But in the world of living and dying by the mission you had to take what you could get.

"How can you be okay with happened?" pulled her out of her thoughts as she focused back on Naruto.

…

"I-I thought about it for a while, and I realized that was what I had wanted, it just had not happened the way I imagined it would" she formulated for him slowly as she thought about this unexpectedly direct question.

"I can't help but sit here and think of how you were after it happened and to now, you almost seem like two different people, or like you are pretending to have forgotten it" he added as he just let out his mind as he thought back to the Kyuubi's comments in the back of his mind.

"I'm not forgetting it okay… it happened" she said as she looked him in the eye.

"I-I took your eye, and you took my… virginity" she said slowly as Naruto watched her put her hand over her womb gently almost like a reministic type look.

"It's not like it's a trade" he immediately retaliated. "I let my emotions get the best of me in that moment and I lost control, it was a lapse on my part" he said with a raised voice.

"Is that all it was to you… a lapse?" she asked in a low voice as her head and eyesight broke away from Naruto as her feelings where on the verge of getting hurt. She thought she had a handle on them after thinking things over, but the thought of that being on a lapse really hurt.

….

"No.. Absolutely not" he responded after a while as he couldn't lie which caused her to look back up at him and catch his gaze.

"I love you Sakura, more so than I can ever explain… but this is not the time and place for that anymore" he added.

"What do you mean?" she asked unsure of what he meant by that.

"I mean that I have to put my feelings aside to focus on the goals that we have to accomplish"

"You mean our role in the Ni-Yurei?" she asked.

"No, that is only a step. There is a more important goal that we need to seek out" he said seriously.

She just looked on waiting for him to tell him of this goal. "Sakura when I talked to the Kyuubi, the only thing that I could think about was the violence in this world. It reminded me of my travels with Ero-senin and our talks about peace and what it meant. The village is only a small momentary time of peace and prosperity. Without everyone having peace, the world will still be the same violent world that it is."

"We have to find a way to truly bring peace to this world, and not just our village. We won't accomplish that with just being in Okami, that is only a brief respite for our village which accounts for nothing in the grand scheme of things."

"How are we supposed to attain peace for the world? We are only two people?" she asked confused at the scope of this goal.

"Sakura, I believe in you, and I believe that you will help me to find the answer to his" he said as he looked deeply into her gaze.

Sakura felt a huge amount of love and happiness for him as he needed her help in all of this and would lean on her fully. He wasn't like Sasuke he didn't want her help at all and tried to do everything himself.

She couldn't really give him an answer to what he had said, but it also become clear to Sakura as he also said it just matter-of-fact, not needing a response at all.

"But to attain this, I need to focus on the goal, and not waiver at all. My personal feelings do not matter in comparison to the importance of this. I hurt you earlier and I don't intend to ever to do that again." He said as this caught her attention, and had some slight feelings of uneasiness following as she wasn't sure what to make of that.

"So what are you saying Naruto?" she asked confused still. "I'm saying that my love for you is in here" as he pointed to his heart. "Don't ever forget that, but going forward I don't want to cause you any more pain, or risk it, so it's best to keep feelings out of this as close are you are to me".

Sakura knew she was the closest to him of anybody in his life, but this was tough to stomach, and to her it didn't make sense.

"Look Naruto, I'm sorry if I made a mistake on how I reacted earlier… when we had sex, but I'm not going to hide my feelings. I'm by your side, but that doesn't mean I can't love you being your partner" she said more sternly as she got further into her fact of the matter and she tried changing the outlook between them and how it was perceived, she didn't want Naruto to think she still felt that he forced her into it.

"Sakura, I was with Ino in what short time we had left before we leave the village, I was following your advice to follow my hear-"

"That doesn't matter Naruto, you were with me just a little while ago. If you really loved her, you wouldn't have had sex with me like you did. You did what you did because that is what you wanted, I know you love me, you wanted me, you took me, and you showed it by doing so. Why do you want to hide that now?" she said somewhat angrily at the mention of Ino.

"A part of you is in me right now, inside my body where you left it, willingly…" As she referred to Naruto's exchange of fluids which silenced him and any rebuttal he may have had.

"I messed up by applying the pregnancy jutsu on myself… I wish that jutsu could be un-applied so that we could see if that would happen – but that is a kinjutsu for a reason, it can't be undone.. it only wears off long after the risk of getting pregnant is gone" she lamented.

"What?" Naruto asked somewhat shocked considering how she had originally acted.

"I was scared Naruto, I was scared of becoming pregnant, but that was my mistake. I shouldn't have applied it, if you had gotten me pregnant that would have brought you so much happiness. I know how much you want a family, and I wish it could be me who gives you that, that's how much I love you" she said honestly as Naruto just sat there dumfounded.

"That would have made me so happy too" she said after catching his attention again. "What do you mean?"

"Carrying your child… that would make me so happy" she said longingly as she thought to how she reacted, how she felt in this moment in retrospect, and to the fact that Hinata was carrying Naruto's child which she had to admit she felt jealous about.

Naruto didn't know whether to hug her or cry because he was feeling so happy at hearing the woman he always loved more than any other say this. But just as his life has always been, nothing was ever easy. A child now in the Ni-Yurei he don't think would be a good thing, aside from what he was hearing.

Sakura earlier was so distraught over what transpired, he was so confused by what she was saying now, he didn't know what to believe. He knew that he wanted to believe her, but he remembered clearly how she looked, and felt from earlier. That feeling that she had been violated seeping from her in contrast to this. It made her seem like she went crazy.

"I-I don't understand where any of this is coming from Sakura. This is a completely one-eighty from what you were like earlier. I don't know what to believe. And on top of that, we have higher obligations to the village now that I don't think would allow for that anyway" he said honestly of his dilemma he was having.

"I'm sorry Naruto, I don't want to hide our emotions for each other" she said one last time hoping she could get him to open up away from the storm she could see within him.

Naruto put his head in his hands as he let his face fall down. So many emotions were running thru to him.

**_'THIS IS A TEST TO SHOW THE WEAKNESS THAT I KNOW I-S YOU'_** rang in his mind as the Kyuubi interjected its own thoughts into his head in that moment as Kurama also dared Naruto to fail and give in to what Sakura was saying and to give in to love and his throw out his goals.

Naruto thought back to the pledge that he and both Sakura made. What Sakura was wanting and for some reason was now showing was completely against that. If they both were just normal shinobi then it was entirely possible. But not for elite shinobi in the Ni-Yurei, what he wanted didn't matter, what the greater good of those around him wanted did, and Sakura was only one person.

**_'YOU SEE, NOW THAT YOU SHOWED YOUR DOMINANCE OVER HER BY CLAIMING HER SHE ONLY WANTS YOU AND IS WILLING TO GIVE EVERYTHING UP FOR IT, T-H-A-T…IS POWER' _**

Naruto couldn't quite object that the Kyuubi didn't have a point.

_'Sakura is not just some woman… she's the woman I have always loved, I don't want to have any dominance over her'_ he thought back into his mind at Kurama but got no response.

"Sakura" Naruto said as he looked over at her after lifting his head to see she was looking at him.

"Do this with me Sakura, help me in the goals I have, and after those are attained, I will open up" he said slowly as he formulated this compromise with her. He would need to get the Kyuubi under control before he could ever really open up to somebody with the knowledge of the influence Kurama has on him. He would need to eventually control the Kyuubi and not the reverse.

Sakura didn't like it one bit, but she could see this was really troubling him. She needed to be there with him, not causing him more drama. They needed to find a good balance with each other, otherwise they were not a cohesive unit.

"Okay, but just know, I am only doing this because I love you" she said as they understood between each other that their love will be put on the sideline. Despite that fact that either of them can be killed and the other would die due to their binding together, they would take this leap of faith.

Sakura was concerned for Naruto, she didn't want to see him turn into another Sasuke on the search for power and nothing else. Naruto was always the complete opposite of Sasuke, one who would embrace love and outwardly give it, and not chase power, but work with others. Yet this path he was asking her to be in seemed to her like he was going to head down that type of journey all over again.

"Naruto" she waited for him to look at her to let what she was going to say sink in. "Don't become another Sasuke" she noticed him visibly flinch at that.

"You're chasing after goals like he did, shutting everything and everyone out it seems" she said before she got up and walked to her bedroom seemingly to go to sleep. She didn't realize how impactful what she said resonated with Naruto as he sat there looking at the spot where she was sitting when she said that to him.

_'Am I really becoming like him?'_ Naruto thought to what Sakura said as that would be the epitome of what Naruto would strive to avoid becoming, yet here he was apparently to a 3rd person's view.

He got up to turn out the lights in the living room and laid back down on the couch intent with going to sleep as he closed his eyes.

He heard footsteps come from Sakura's bedroom walk over to him.

"What are you doing?" he heard her ask. "Going to sleep" he responded to which came the feeling of her hand grabbing on to him to drag him up as she pulled him up.

"What are you doing?" he asked her as she guided him along with her back to her bedroom.

"Making sure you don't turn into another selfish, power chasing idiot" she remarked swiftly as she pulled him into bed with her.

"We're going to be out in the field together, get used to sleeping together a lot, we don't have to do anything like we did in team 7" she added with a point of fact to which Naruto remembered how they used to always sleep separately.

"From now on Naruto, it's our own way" she said as she got comfortable with her head on his shoulder as she laid on her stomach and melded her body with Naruto's comfortably. Naruto as he laid on his back felt the breath of Sakura from her normal breathing subside to those of a peacefully asleep type.

_Awake…_

Naruto laid there awake staring off into the ceiling of Sakura's bedroom.

He battled mentally with what Sakura said vs. the Kyuubi. The Kyuubi was inferring that Sakura was a weakness to Naruto, while he felt she was his strength. She was the embodiment of his philosophy of being with your loved one and protecting them. Also becoming powerful enough to protect them, but in her case, she was a source of his power and would be an equal part of his power. Without her, he would only be so powerful, but with her, they would reach new levels. That was a new goal he formulated as a means to attain their goal together. Team work to the highest degree and the point that they wouldn't ever do things alone; they would be a true unit.

_'Sakura is not a weakness, and she doesn't make me weak'_ he thought in defiance of Kurama's remarks.

In his mind the Kyuubi thought back to his display of power earlier and that Naruto had actually fully resisted his attempt to crush him with his chakra. That was the only time any human had ever resisted his attempt. Kurama also had not felt a power which was so overbearingly strong, even for the demon. Kurama was relieved that Naruto didn't try to fight him as it was apparent that if Naruto could fully resist his strong chakra force, then he likely could overpower the kyuubi, or at least fight on equal ground in which case either meant there was a definite chance Naruto could overpower the Kyuubi right there. Kurama's feign of power worked in his favor, but the demon's thoughts dwelled on the time it wouldn't be the case.

Naruto finally rolled over and entwined himself with Sakura's body as she only accommodated him even more into her closeness as she slept.

"Thank you Sakura-chan for being my strength when I myself falter, you are my source of it" he said in a whisper as he closed his eyes to fall asleep.

He missed the ear to ear smile that emerged on Sakura's 'sleeping' face as she continued to feign being asleep as she snuggled in closer to finally go to sleep with Naruto as he was finally done thinking and she was staying awake to support him if he needed it.

That gave her an even more strengthened peace of mind about her role in Naruto's life and sense of need to be in it. The role she was being for Naruto was difficult as it was playing with her heart, but she knew how long she had played with his so-to-speak as they grew up and he endured it, so would she. It was nice thought to get appreciations like so however.


	24. Chapter 24 - The Path Begins

_'Tap Tap Tap'_

A tapping awoke Sakura as she opened her eyes groggily and took in the sight of Naruto lying beside her asleep, but somewhat stirring.

_'Tap Tap Tap'_

She slowly got up from the bed as she tried to not disturb Naruto too much as he started to shift in bed as she got up from it. She paused and put the covers she pulled off of him as she got up back over him, and slowly walked to the front door where she paused a moment.

_'Who the heck can this be?'_ she thought as she tried to recall if she was going to have anybody over this morning.

_'Tap Tap Tap'_

_'Ugh'_ she thought as she opened the door expecting to see a person. She stood looking at the empty entry way to her door gazing off into the street from her apartment. She stood momentarily perplexed as her eyes lowered to the floor where she spotted it.

There was a jet black owl with black eyes, except for blue rings forming the Irises. Any other day she would pause to look at it more, but this was not that day. She was still half asleep, and there was a bird of a type she had never seen before in Konoha.

_'What the..'_ she thought as she looked at the owl as it looked up at her and it shifted.

_'Ah…'_ she saw it, a small note attached to its leg.

"Your new, what orders do you bring…" she said to it as she leaned down and removed the black piece of paper from its leg.

She started to unroll the paper as she watched the owl scamper and then fly off as she pondered what the deal was with that black owl. This was not a typical messenger bird which Konoha used to relay messages.

As she finished unrolling the paper she glanced back down to it and saw nothing at first on the jet black parchment. She charged a little bit of chakra and the message appeared.

Her shoulders tensed and she involuntarily hitched in a breath as she read what the message said, trying to comprehend the words that raised the hairs on the back of her neck.

Her breathing had changed from that of grogginess to of labored breath filled with concern, as if she had been hit with a sledge hammer in the chest.

She slowly took a step back on one foot and shifted her body to slightly face back to Naruto in bed as he slept. She turned her head slowly as her face wore an expression of fear as she slowly took in the form of the bed and of Naruto.

Her eyes ran up Naruto's body which had rolled over onto his back under the covers as she took in his face peering back at her with half-lidded eyes in question.

Emerald and blue interlocked.

"N..a..r-"

**_FLASH_**

**_BOOOOOOOM!_**

Sakura's form was wiped from visibility in an instant as it was replaced by the explosion.

Naruto's gaze watched her eyes as the intensity of the brightness of the explosion blinded him and a massive concussion overtook his body in the bed as he felt the intense heat wash over him as pieces of furniture, walls, glass, and cloth pierced and braised his body as he felt as if his body was ripped apart and stabbed a thousand times.

_'S-SAKURA'_ Naruto thought as his bearings at least granted him the ability to feel that he was laying on the ground somewhere.

He could hear the sounds of fire around him as well as various materials floating in the air slowly making their way to the ground from the explosion. But it didn't help as his ears were ringing as his head felt like it would be split in two.

He tried to getup but pain wracked his body and he could feel his face wet, but from what, he didn't know.

"sa…saku….sakura" he slowly let out in a whisper as he tried to yell, but he couldn't get enough air in his lungs to take a deep breath. Both of his lungs felt on fire when he tried to take enough breadth to try to yell.

Coughs racked his body causing even more pain…

He slowly tried opening his eyes only seeing vague forms of what might be rubble while being masked by lots of thick smoke.

He slowly sat up as debris fell of his body and he tried to blink his eyes of few times and focus.

He could feel the heat of the fire around him, but yet he could hear no people around, just the fires from the explosion and the materials burning around him.

He forced himself to his feet slowly as he focused enough to see red drops falling on the ground as he was looking down at it as he was leaned over trying to force himself up and help him balance.

_'Sakura' _

"Sakura… where are you?" he asked to no one in particular in a low scratchy voice as he then had a coughing fit.

He still couldn't breathe very well and couldn't suppress the coughs but his eyes started scanning the rubble that he now took in.

Sakura apartment was destroyed. It looked to him like he was blown out the rear wall which the bed was up against and into the back area between her building and neighbors.

He could see the rubble from her apartment spread around the neighbor's buildings even with some flames burning on them. But he couldn't make out much of her own home save for roughly where the front door was before he lost sight of her.

He stumbled thru the rubble looking down for her, scanning the burning rubble, the dark sooted materials.

His eyes froze on a particular spot as he stopped, including his breathing and coughing all together.

He saw some of her pink hair, clearly burned, and covered in dark soot below rubble that was burning on top.

"Sa…" he couldn't even bring himself to say her name as he slowly shuffled over to where her hair was.

A thought ran thru his mind… _'Is… is that her head… is that all that is… there…'_ as his vision blurred as he tried to focus on it. The thought was bringing his soul to the brink of explosion of sadness. He was.. scared of seeing her body.

He forced himself to drop to his knees next to the hair as he reached out his hand to grasp it.

He felt the fibers in his hand, and a memory of him running his hand thru her hair came front and center. Yet this hair was clumped together and a completely different texture from then.

He closed his eyes hard and tightly squeezed the hair in his hand as he barely whispered her name to himself.

He brought himself to start removing the rubble as he traced the hair down to its roots.

He looked down at her burnt face as her eyes were closed. There were many deep cuts on her face and the blood was intermixed with the dark soot from the rubble that had been caked on.

She looked at peace. That's all he could take in as he looked at her face, completely still, and unlike any other time he had seen her. Nothing about it moved, nothing about it was… alive.

He could feel tears running down from his eyes, as if all the water in his body was being released thru them as he started to cry without a sound.

'This… can't be happening…' he thought as he ran his hand over her face. It was still warm to the touch - her body had not yet begun to cool off from when it was alive. He looked at his hand he had ran on her face and looked at her blood that was on it.

He slowly took off the other pieces of rubble covering her body as he let out a small breath as he realized her head was still attached to her body.

There was a piece on fire that covered her lower half and without even thinking he grabbed it with his bare hand not even caring.

He didn't even flinch or make a sound. He looked at his hand as he had it in the flames and picked up the rubble and threw it aside as his body wracked in pain. A part of his body was literally burning… but that didn't matter… nothing mattered…

He slowly gathered up her upper body in his arms and pulled her close to him and held her tightly. His head was pressed against hers covering half of her face as he held her tightly.

His body starts to wrack with sobs as he held her.

_'I lost her'_

He slowly brought himself to look at the injuries on her body, she had large open wounds on her trunk of which any one of them were fatal. He could still see the blood slowly seeping out of them… but not pumping out from a heartbeat. He knew there was none.

His blue, hallow eyes just stared, as if lost, and as if not there anymore.

His hand was smoking from having being burned by the fire, he could smell burnt flesh and hair, both from himself and more so from Sakura.

"Don't look so glum blondie" came an extremely eerie voice to him from in front of the remains of Sakura's apartment.

He slowly took his eyes off of her form and looked up to the form the voice belonged to.

At first he couldn't see as the smoke was blocking the figure.

He caught a glimpse of blonde, and then of blue beneath it, and their eyes locked.

Naruto's eyes constricted slightly and he had a perplexed look on his face similar to what his teammate had worn before…

"Who… are you?" he asked as he looked at the figure.

The figure said nothing as the person looked back at him with a smirk.

After a long pause, "I'm you…" the figure responded.

"No.. " Naruto replied back emptily as he peered at himself standing in front of the apartment.

The 'Naruto' then pulled out a Kunai and looked at him for a second.

"I've got some more business to take care of" it said as it then bounded off leaving Naruto looking at his retreating form trying to put two and two together.

_'I'm you…'_ played in Naruto's head as he couldn't place what was going on. The memory of Sakura's expression on her face before the explosion registered along with what the 'Naruto' had said.

All that mattered to Naruto in that moment was that 'he' had set of the explosion killing Sakura.

He looked down one more time to her face and he slowly leaned down and kissed her forehead as he vowed to not stop until he knew who that 'Naruto' was and would make him pay.

**_BOOM!_**

He looked up to see an explosion off in the distance roughly in the direction the 'Naruto' had gone.

To him it was a confirmation that whoever that was definitely responsible for what happened to Sakura.

He stood up and pain shot thru his body. But no amount of pain would stop him from going after that person, this was unlike anything else. There was no time to mourn, there was only time to kill whoever that was, that was all that mattered.

**_BOOOOOOM!_**

The mind of Naruto was washed over by the intense desire to kill. To destroy.

_'Without her… I am nothing…'_ his mind spiraled out of control as he started to run and bound from buildings in the village following the trail of the explosions.

As he bounded he could see casualties on the streets below, but they were just blurs to him. He would not stop, and his eyes kept track of his target by the explosions and now of the sounds of screams that he could here broadcasting that 'Naruto's' position.

**_'KILL HIM'_** echoed in his mind with a guttural roar, although to Naruto, he wasn't sure if that was himself instead of Kurama.

His speed started to increase and a noticeable red glow began emanating from his body. The Kyuubi's powers were starting to seep from his body and enhance his speed, strength, focus, and feed his anger.

The explosions and screaming were getting louder… he was gaining.

As if in slow motion, his eyes strayed to the passing ground beneath him as he watched some victims lay by as he passed over them. He could see people running around lost within the chaos of the attack.

As another body passed beneath in a blur the form of Sakura laying at his feet overtook his vision.

Insane amount of anger collected in him that he could not contain any longer as his face peeled back in a teeth bearing growl as the anger overtook him.

**_RRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRR!_**

He screamed his heart out in anger, a moment to mourn Sakura, however brief, but his sorrow, anger and pain had to be addressed in that moment.

As he looked back up to assess where his target was, he spotted the back of 'Naruto' as he was bounding ahead of him.

His eyes locked onto the figure like lasers, as if burning a hole in the back swirl symbol of the dark attire which 'Naruto' was wearing.

Kunai's.. Rasengan… Naruto's mind briefly thought of attacks he may use on the person in question. But none of that could be better than something in particular.

_'No… I will tear him apart with my bare hands'_ Naruto thought darkly.

His thoughts stopped when he saw the figure look back at him over their shoulder and jump down to the ground in a building in front of him.

The tactical part of Naruto thought how the person must be preparing for him to be following in pursuit preparing an attack, and he would normally change his approach, but not in this case.

Naruto jumped down as he bounded in pursuit of the figure and saw him standing in the alley way looking up at him.

He landed a few feet away as he slowly stood up from the crouch from the landing.

"You were in quite a hurry to catch me… demon" the 'Naruto' said to him as he looked him over and the cloak of the Kyuubi.

Naruto's chakra was radiating in waves of anger as Naruto leveled his red slitted eyes at his doppelganger without responding.

"And here we are…" 'Naruto' said as he raised his hand with his index finger pointed up as he invoked a jutsu.

**_BOOOOOM!_** Rang in Naruto's ears as the building next to them exploded as Naruto held his hand outstretched in the direction of the explosion. Naruto's Kyuubi cloak had grew massively in the shape of his hand blocking the explosion from hitting Naruto.

"Impressive" the 'Naruto' mused. "The stage is set" the figure continued as Naruto in a swift motion brought his hand back in the direction of the figure in a crushing motion with a very fast speed.

As Naruto brought down his Kyuubi cloaked hand to crush the figure in front of him, the 'Naruto's' smirk was burned in his memory as the figure disappeared in a puff of smoke as his hand slammed down on the ground the figure was previously occupying as the alleyway surface cracked beneath the pressure.

Naruto stared at the spot for a second before more anger welled up inside. The figure had shunshin'ed away in time to avoid his attack.

Naruto immediately bounded the rubble of the exploded building in front of him as he roared in anger to look to see if he could find the figure.

"NARUTO UZUMAKI" came the voice of his baa-chan off to his left as he immediately peered in her direction with a serious gaze.

He looked at the Hokage as she stood. He looked over to Danzo standing next to her.

_'Danzo'_ he thought darkly of the man who didn't waver from his intense gaze.

He then looked to the other side of the Hokage and his eyes widened briefly.

_'Hinata'_ he thought as he looked at her as he took note that her Byakugan was activated as she looked back at him with an expression of shock, disappointment and anger.

His gaze softened at her but he did notice the look on her face as he immediately realized something.

_'What is she doing with them…'_

_'She thinks I did this… this damage… the explosions…'_

_'the… attack'_

He then looked back at Tsunade, but she wasn't wearing quite the same face as Hinata, but he couldn't place it other than she looked serious, like the powerful Hokage that she was.

He then looked around and noticed the ANBU, and that he was surrounded by them from all angles as they were obviously ready to attack at a moment's notice from the Hokage.

He was being approached as a threat.

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL POSSESSED YOU TO ATTACK THE VILLAGE LIKE THIS…" Tsunade yelled.

"THE PEOPLE OF THIS VILLAGE LOOKED AT YOU AS OUR HERO…." those words stung Naruto to his core as he couldn't hold her serious gaze, as if he was in fact guilty of the atrocities that had just occurred.

A long silence passed as neither party said anything; Naruto only after a while took a breath and looked back up at the Hokage.

"BUT THESE ACTS AGAINST OUR VILLAGE CANNOT GO UNPUNISHED…" she added as she looked at him with an unreadable stare.

"NARUTO UZUMAKI, YOU ARE HEREBY ORDERED TO BE EXECUTED FOR THE CRIMES YOU HAVE COMMITED AGAINST THE VILLAGE IN THIS ATTACK… BY MY DECREE WITH THE FULL SUPPORT OF THE DAIMYO"

He saw Tsunade briefly look up behind him, and he heard somebody land behind him lightly.

_'EXECUTED'_ rang in his mind as he struggled to comprehend what his perceived grandmother had just said without a slight hint of sadness. More like out of anger, and disdain.

'What.. the hell is going on' he thought to himself as he briefly looked around at the ANBU, half expecting them to all attack in that moment.

"Naruto" came from behind him in a voice all too familiar to him.

_'THAT VOICE… IT CAN'T BE!'_ he thought as he immediately looked behind him.

"SAKURA" he almost yelled as he looked with wide eyes as emerald eyes stared back at him… alive.. emerald eyes.

He looked over her, and she didn't have any hint of the injuries he had seen on her body so clearly. Her attire looked dirty, but she didn't appear to be harmed in any way.

"What.. What the hell is going on" he said to her as he looked at her with total surprise. Emotions of elation, distress, and confusion clouded his mind as he couldn't make sense of what happened earlier - Sakura could see these emotions in his eye.

"I… I saw… you die" he said as his voice hitched and he could see her looking at him in concern.

"I held your de-dead.. body… in my arms Sakura…." he added as those painful memories challenged the fact that she was standing there very much alive.

He could see the concern in her eyes, not the anger like that which was in Hinata's, but that confused him as well.

_'If Hinata thinks I did this attack, then why doesn't… Sakura'_ he struggled to say in his mind, he couldn't quite get himself to say her name easily, as if she would disappear like it was a dream that she was alive.

"I-" she started, "SAKURA HARUNO" called the voice both herself and Naruto despised; that of Danzo.

They both focused on Danzo as he continued; "YOUR TEAMMATE HAS COMMITED UNFORGIVABLE ACTS AGAINST THE VILLAGE… YOUR ALLEGIANCE HAS BEEN CALLED INTO QUESTION DUE TO THE ACTS OF YOUR TEAMMATE" he let hang in the air.

"YOU ARE ORDERED TO EXECUTE NARUTO UZUMAKI TO PROVE YOUR ALLEGENCE TO THE VILLAGE" he finished with his authoritative tone.

She looked to her teacher and mentor in Tsunade who could only shift her eyes away from her gaze slightly.

She looked back to Naruto.

He looked back over his shoulder to her as he met her questioning and concerned gaze.

Naruto's head was spinning with what was going on. Shock, and confusion really didn't allow him to process what was going on. His emotions were all over the place, this was unlike any situation he had been in before in all his battles. In the past he had been at times close to death, but this was of a totally different feeling to him when he heard about his ordered execution. No feeling in the past could compare to this.

He hadn't even had a chance yet to think of the implications of the Hokage's orders, or his impending death.

He heard the sound of a Kunai getting pulled out of Sakura's weapon pouch as he looked down at it as she pulled the weapon out and then back up at her face.

_'She's going to do it… She's going to kill me'_ he thought to himself as if he was looking at himself from outside his body.

'She has to do it…. She can't be executed like me… I can't allow that' screamed in his mind as his brain looked at it from her perspective. As if his mind had almost believed he committed those earlier acts. But he knew it wasn't that, it was that she had to make a choice. To live or die.

_'Just like when she had to destroy my eye'_ he thought. 'This feeling of allowing her to kill me… this must of felt like what she had to go thru… When she had to choose to harm me to save me… I have to hurt her letting her kill me… to save her' he thought as it felt like he had an epiphany.

Sakura put her free hand on his shoulder as she got in close.

_'That look in his eye… he doesn't want me to die… he wants me to kill him and prove my allegiance to the village'_ she pondered as she walked close to him. Her resolve for him would not be shaken now when it mattered most, of that she was sure of.

"Naruto…" he heard in his ear as she leaned in as she placed her free hand on his shoulder.

He lowered his head as if in resignation… "I can face my fate if it's you… Sakura" he said back as he admitted to her that he would let her kill him… to save her.

_'I can't let her die because of this'_ he said to himself as he couldn't allow Sakura to die… twice.

That admission by Naruto made Sakura pause, it hurt her to hear him say that, and to see him in this state, of defeat.

"Naruto… we have to escape" she whispered to him.

"We have to get out of here… together" she added.

"What?" he asked her in a whisper trying to understand if he heard her correctly.

"Naruto… our orders for our first mission in the Ni Yurei is to survive. To survive this, and escape the village"

"W-what" he stammered as he realized that this was a mission. He didn't want to believe that their types of missions could be something like this, but here it was, and this is the exact situation they are in. No.. going.. back…

Reality was hitting him much harder than he could imagine.

"We need to survive" she repeated making sure he heard it as she squeezed his shoulder reassuringly.

"I'm with you, we'll do this together"

He could only look up at Danzo and gaze at him, and he looked over to Tsunade.

_'How can they do this to us?'_ he asked of them as he looked at them. _ 'They are destroying us in front of the village, vilifying us…'_

_"In the Ni Yurei, you are no one"_ came into his mind as a memory of something Danzo said to him fell into place like a missing puzzle piece. _'We are no one because we cannot be associated with the village… We have to be an enemy of it, someone they would not acknowledge exists… like… missing-nin'_

Another person came to mind, someone he felt he could relate to in that very moment, and with a feeling like he knew this was something he was going to eventually have to face.

_'Itachi… is this, what it was like for you…?'_ Naruto asked himself trying to understand what Itachi must of went thru with what information Jiraiya had told him about him.

"FUTHERMORE…" came the voice of Tsunade causing both Naruto and Sakura to look up at her.

"FOR THE RAPE AND IMPREGNATION OF HINATA HYUUGA, YOUR REMAINS WILL BE TURNED OVER TO THE HYUUGA FAMILY TO BE DISPOSED OF… DISHONORABLY"

_-COMPLETE SILENCE-_

It was as if anybody there in that moment could hear a pin drop.

Sakura wore a look of complete surprise on her face as she stared into the back of Naruto's head as he had turned away from her when he was apparently giving in.

In Naruto's mind the Kyuubi's eyes slowly opened while its ears picked up and reared back on its head as a scowl started to form on its massive face.

Kurama's eyes slightly widened when its own chakra started to seep out of it, as it was drawn from him for the first time… ever.

**_'THE KIT IS ACTUALLY DRAWING MY CHAKRA, INSTEAD OF ME SHARING IT'_** it thought surprised. The previous Nine Tails Jinjuriki never could draw chakra from it as it was too powerful, but for the first time, the nine tails was actually being… controlled into having chakra being used without its own consent.

Sakura watched Naruto's form as his Kyuubi cloak changed shape slowly to represent somewhat of a long cloak but it was not completely formed as it had holes in it. But the ebbs of red chakra rising from his figure were longer than she had ever seen, and she could feel the chakra's power being so close to him.

In fact she could feel the chakra in her body resonating with his, and that it had risen in power drastically.

Hinata had been looking at Naruto the whole time and she could see with her Byakugan that his chakra had exploded in intensity at the mention of her impregnation from when he raped her. Hinata breath hitched momentarily as she wasn't expecting this kind of reaction from him. She thought he wouldn't care at all. How could a monster that just attacked the village like he did care?

She could see his chakra points had all drastically got more dense which showed that he had become more powerful than she had ever seen him before in his previous Kyuubi states.

_'He knows now'_ Hinata thought to herself as she involuntarily brought her hand up onto her enlarged pelvic area from the pregnancy.

_'And he knows now'_ she thought as she briefly looked away from Naruto to her relative in the ANBU that was atop a building awaiting the Hokage's orders. It would only be a matter of time before Neji would know as her relative would be sure to inform her clan of this. She had been trying to keep it a secret.

She looked back to Naruto, and she watched as his lone eye was scrunched as if he was feeling some immense pain as his face was also scrunched in pain.

She watched his lone eye slowly open and her eyes locked with his lone eye, it was slitted but it was blue, not red. She had never seen this before in him.

_'She… got pregnant from… when that happened'_ he thought to himself as his heart was filled with sorrow. Sorrow for what he had done to her, and a pain that before now he had never experienced in his entire life. The feeling of knowing he was going to be a father, just before he was to be executed.

_'I'm… going to be a…. dad'_ he thought in a somewhat happy, yet very pained way.

_'I'm… never going to be able to see my.. baby'_ was his next immediate thought as he looked back up and had met Hinata's eyes with his lone one in a brief moment where his anger was entirely replaced by something else.

A primal form of elation.

For a brief moment he was happy at such news. The most important news he could ever hear in his life, and the most important thing to him, more than being Hokage.

But now he would see neither of those dreams, because in this moment they would be forever out of his reach. That realization exploded in his heart like a cancer and poisoned its way thru his body.

He thought of Hinata and how it happened to her, and what she would go thru. And he thought of the unborn and still developing child in her womb, and how it would probably live a life like he did. Ostracized, and without him there to protect the child.

"Forgive me…"

"Hinata" he said in a low whisper, yet Hinata had clearly seen what he said. And it struck her in her heart directly.

She could feel the weight behind his few words, and she could tell what he meant by them.

That he would not be there to help her take care of the baby with what was transpiring.

She couldn't peel her eyes away from his lone one. It was her first real look between them since that fateful night.

Tears were starting to run down from Sakura's eyes behind Naruto. She could feel his feelings that were destroying him due to their connection together. She could interpret all of it as if she was reading his mind as she watched something that she felt guilty of not looking away from or tuning out. She felt like he had just learned the most important thing in his life, and he also realized it was taken away from him… forever.

She was overwhelmed with the immense feeling of sadness he was feeling, and yet she could feel something ignite. A deep seeded anger. It burned in her body just like it did in Naruto's. Sakura had felt real genuine anger before in her life, and this was a level beyond anything she imagined anger could feel like.

She felt the air around her grow heavy from the weight of Naruto's chakra.

Hinata watched as Naruto's lone single eye changed from a slitted deep ocean blue, to a blood red. As if she has just witnessed him slip into darkness from the light.

Naruto took the anger in his heart and gave it a single purpose and goal…

_'__Survive'_


End file.
